This administration changes its tune based on what business/tech leaders are telling them[0][1]. There's no doubt that ICE will be used for selective enforcement (as we've seen them used at American protests) but some immigrants are probably staying based on the reality that business interests are more important.

Also, I would be hesitant to say that immigrants being targeted by ICE are "illegal" as we saw some be detained/deported after speaking out against the war in Gaza[2]. Also, a lot claim asylum at the border which is a legal process.

> and I can come back to the US upon following the legal method

That process in reality takes a really long time due to the federal immigration system being strained. The 2024 border bill tried to address this by adding more immigration judges and asylum officers but Trump told Republicans to kill it because it'd make Biden look good. So far all we got was a massive DHS funding increase that allowed Kristi Noem to funnel $100M+ to herself and her friends and kill two American citizens with ICE.

0: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/farm-labor-tr...

1: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5601588-trump-h1...

2: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2026/03/17/immigrati...