| United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement | |
|---|---|
 ICE logo | |
 HSI Special Agent badge | |
 ERO Officer badge | |
 Flag of ICE | |
| Motto | "Protecting National Security and Upholding Public Safety" "Honor, Service, Integrity"(Homeland Security Investigations) |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | March 1, 2003 (22 years ago) (2003-03-01) |
| Preceding agency |
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| Employees | 21,800+ (2025)[1] |
| Annual budget | $9.13 billion (2025)[2] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | United States |
| Specialist jurisdictions | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 500 12th Street SW Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | United States Department of Homeland Security |
| Website | |
| ice.gov | |
TheUnited States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is afederal law enforcement agency under theUnited States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforceimmigration laws, preservenational security, and protectpublic safety. ICE was created as part of theHomeland Security Act of 2002 following theSeptember 11 attacks. It absorbed the prior functions of theImmigration and Naturalization Service and theUnited States Customs Service.
ICE has two primary and distinct law enforcement components: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). It has three supporting divisions: the Management and Program Administration, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). ICE maintains domestic offices throughout the United States and detachments at majorU.S. diplomatic missions overseas. ICE personnel (special agents and officers) do not patrol American borders; rather, that role is performed byU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) andU.S. Coast Guard. Theacting director isTodd Lyons; the agency has not had aSenate-confirmed director sinceSarah Saldaña stepped down on January 20, 2017.[3][4]
ICE has been involved in multiple controversies throughout its existence, with significant increases in criticism during thefirst andsecond administration ofDonald Trump. Following the passage of theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025 as part ofPresident Trump's immigration policy, ICE became the largest and most well-funded federal law enforcement agency in U.S. history. Its enforcement actions, publicity campaigns, and tactics have resulted inpublic controversy and loss of morale, and raisedconcerns over legality, accountability, and civil rights.[5][6][7] ICE agents are noted for wearing masks, civilian clothing, and using unmarked vehicles.[6][8] The agency has been the subject of protests,[9] particularly in2018 and2025, with some activists calling forits abolition.[10] During the second Trump administration, the agency has been described by critics as a growingmilitarized police force,secret police, andparamilitary.
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A federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security, ICE's stated mission is "[p]rotecting America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety".[11] ICE enforces more than 400 federal statutes, focusing on customs violations, immigration enforcement, terrorism prevention, andtrafficking.[12][13][better source needed]
ICE's two primary and distinct law enforcement components are:
HSI is focused on the disruption of transnational crime, whereas ERO is responsible for the apprehension, detention, deportation and removal of undocumented immigrants. ERO is among the most public and contentious functions of ICE, and maintains custodial facilities used to detain people who are illegally present[clarification needed] in the United States and pose a reasonable threat to public safety. The agency's three supporting divisions are:[14]
Like its predecessor in immigration enforcement, theImmigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the agency and its personnel are known informally in Spanish as "la migra".[15]
The 1876US Supreme Court caseChy Lung v. Freeman established the power of theUS federal government to set and enforce rules regarding immigration.[16][17][18] TheImmigration Act of 1891 created a commissioner of immigration in theTreasury Department. In 1903, immigration was transferred to the purview of theDepartment of Commerce and Labor and, after it split in 1913, to theDepartment of Labor.[19] TheImmigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was established in 1933. In 1940, with increasing concern aboutnational security, services relating to immigration and naturalization were organized under the authority of theDepartment of Justice.[20]
TheImmigration and Naturalization Service (under theJustice Department) and theUnited States Customs Service (under theTreasury Department) were dissolved on March 1, 2003, when theHomeland Security Act of 2002 transferred most of their functions to three new entities –United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), andU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – within the newly createdUnited States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as part of a major government reorganization following theSeptember 11 attacks of 2001.[21][22] ICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and a contributor to the FBI'sJoint Terrorism Task Force.[23] The agency operates with a significant budget and workforce.[24]
The agencies that were either moved entirely or merged in part into ICE included:
The Federal Protective Service was later transferred from ICE to theNational Protection and Programs Directorate effective October 28, 2009. In 2003,Asa Hutchinson moved theFederal Air Marshals Service from theTransportation Security Administration (TSA) to ICE,[25] butMichael Chertoff moved them back to the TSA in 2005.[26]
In February 2005, ICE beganOperation Community Shield, a national law enforcement initiative that targets violent transnational street gangs through the use of ICE's broad law enforcement powers, including the unique and powerful authority to remove criminal immigrants, including undocumented immigrants and legal permanent residents.[27][28]
Between 2009 and 2016, theBarack Obama administration oversaw the deporting of a record 2.4 million undocumented immigrants who had entered the United States, earning him the nickname "Deporter-In-Chief" byJanet Murguía, the president ofNational Council of La Raza.[29][30][31][32][33] According to ICE data, about 40% of those deported by ICE in 2015 had no criminal conviction, while a majority of those convicted were guilty of minor charges.[34] Statistics of record deportations were partly due to a change in how deportations were counted that began during the Bush administration and continued under the Obama administration.[35]
Following apresidential campaign that centered immigration policy,Donald Trump enacted in hisfirst presidency (2017–2021) a hardlineimmigration policy intended to reduce immigration. Shortly after taking office, he signed an executive order to increase ICE's staffing by 10,000 people, and to vastly expand ICE's immigration enforcement powers.[36] While ICE largely prioritized people charged with serious crimes during theObama administration, Trump's first administration directed the agency to target anybody it believed had entered the United States illegally.[22] Subsequently, the number of encounters and arrests performed by ICE increased substantially, including the encounters and arrests ofU.S. citizens.[37] ICE began engaging in high-profile raids at places of employment, places of worship, and places of education.[22] By 2020, growing numbers ofDemocratic lawmakers andprogressive figures called for theabolition of ICE and an overhaul of the United States immigration system due to ICE's controversial practices.[22][36][38]
In 2018, a total of 19 HSI special agents in charge or SACs (who are the senior most officials in each investigative division) sent a letter to DHS secretaryKirstjen Nielsen and asked to be formally separated from ICE.[36][39] These 19 SACs explained that HSI's investigative mission was repeatedly being hamstrung by ICE's civil immigration enforcement mission,[36][39] saying that many jurisdictions limited their co-operation with HSI because of its linkage to the politically charged activity of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is also housed under ICE.[22][39] These senior leaders requested HSI be restructured as a stand-alone agency analogous to the Secret Service.[39] It was also stated "No U.S. Department of Justice law enforcement agency is paired with another disparate entity, i.e., the FBI is not paired with the Bureau of Prisons or DEA."[39] This letter was ultimately ignored by the administration.[39]
Numerousprotests emerged across the nation in response to thefirst Trump administration's ICE policies. Many of the protesters occupied areas around ICE facilities in hopes of disrupting operations. TheOccupy ICE movement began on June 17, 2018, outside Portland, Oregon. It initially began as a vigil for the people suffering from ICE policies but spontaneously grew into a larger movement as more people showed up. The movement ultimately spread into other major cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, and New York. As the movement grew, they faced counter protesters and arrests, but protesters remained undeterred and vowed to continue fighting the Trump administration's ICE policies. As Occupy ICE groups spread to different cities, there has also been a greater amount of coordination between them.[40]
Other grassroots protests sprung up across the nation as well. On August 1, 2019, a month-long peaceful protest event was started outside the San Francisco ICE office, where protesters beat drums and demanded that family separation at the border be stopped.[41] In addition to blocking ICE facilities, protesters are also protesting technology companies such as Microsoft for providing technology to aid ICE. One such instance of this was the sit-in at theMicrosoft store on5th Avenue in NYC led by Close the Camps NYC on September 14, 2019.[42] In the 2020 protests and riots inPortland, Oregon, the local ICE office had its window broken.[43]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing informationadding missing information ormaking an edit request.(January 2026) |
DuringJoe Biden's presidency, approximately 4 million removals and expulsions were recorded at the U.S.–Mexico border. The totals included multiple crossings made by the same individuals, particularly during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[44]
Despite the Biden administrationsPriority Enforcement Program,[45] theAmerican Immigration Council found, from February to November 2021, nearly half (49.8 percent) ofdetainers were carried out against people in the “other” category, nearly a third (33.2 percent) of arrests fell under the “other” category and 23.4 percent of removals were also classified as “other.”[46] As of October 2023, ICE held approximately 30,000 individuals in detention facilities across the United States.[47]
ICE's increasing use ofsolitary confinement under Biden was criticized.[48]
| Part ofa series on the |
| Immigration policy of the second Trump administration |
|---|
Targeting of U.S. citizens |
Targeting of immigrants
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|
Controversies |
To all ICE officers: You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. Anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.
You have immunity to perform your duties, and no one — no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist — can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties. The Department of Justice has made clear that if officials cross that line into obstruction, into criminal conspiracy against the United States or against ICE officers, then they will face justice.
–Stephen Miller,White House deputy chief of staff, on October 24, 2025 responding to the suggestion that theState of Illinois could pursue criminal charges against ICE agents involved inOperation Midway Blitz[49][50][51]
During thesecond presidency of Donald Trump, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) significantly increased recruiting efforts.[52] They are attempting to hire 10,000 new employees in 2026, up from 20,000 employees in December 2025,[52] and have allocated $100 million in one year for what they have referred to as a "wartime recruitment" campaign.[53]
TheDepartment of Homeland Security and the White House have posted recruitment ads toTikTok,X, andInstagram, and they purchased ad space to promote ICE onHulu,HBO Max,Snapchat,Spotify, andYouTube.[52] Their recruitment efforts have usedmemes andonline influencers to promote ICE deportations, and they have used ageo-targeted advertising targeting people who attendedUFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts, or had shown an interest in guns and tactical gear.[53] Some ads usedwhite nationalist slogans.[54][55][56]
ICE again came to the forefront during thesecond presidency of Donald Trump, as Trump once again imposed a hardlineimmigration policy. Trump's administration enacted a major wave of deportations, On January 22, the DHS announced the administration was rolling back an Obama-era directive that had protected migrants in sensitive areas such as hospitals, places of worship, courtrooms, funerals, weddings and schools, giving rise to fears that certain sectors, such as the food industry, might lack workers.[59][60] Two days later, acting Homeland Security SecretaryBenjamine Huffman said the agency would deport people admitted into the United States temporarily by the Biden administration.[61] The U.S. military was deployed to assist ICE in multiple states.[62] The administration has used theAlien Enemies Act to quickly deport individuals subject to removal under the AEA with limited or nodue process,[63][64] and to beimprisoned in El Salvador.[65] SeveralAmerican citizens were detained and deported.[66] Administration practices have faced legal issues and stoked controversy with lawyers, judges, and legal scholars.[63] The Trump administration began setting daily targets for ICE arrests,[67] and engaged in a controversial campaign to increase the visibility of ICE's arrests.[68][69] Some have stated that ICE during this time has been targeting "Hispanic looking" people,[70] and federal courts have found the agency to be engaged inracial profiling.[71]
On July 21,The Guardian described ICE's "Alligator Alcatraz" in Florida as being involved in "a succession of alleged abuses at jails operated by ICE in the state since January, chronicled by the advocacy groupsHuman Rights Watch, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Sanctuary of the South from interviews with detainees".[72] People detained by ICE have reported being deprived of food, water, and showers.[73] In the first couple of months of the second Trump administration, several people died in ICE custody.[74] Demonstrations emerged nationwide in 2025 against ICE's immigration enforcement activity and policies,[75][76][77][78][79] including theJune 2025 Los Angeles protests. Legal and law enforcement experts described ICE's use of plainclothes arrests as resulting ina spike of ICE impersonators being arrested across the country.[80]
Within Trump'sOne Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025,[81] the U.S. government allocated unprecedented funding to ICE for detention facilities, deportation operations, and additional funds to hire new agents.[82] The bill allocates ICE with more funding than any federal law enforcement agency in U.S. history and more than the federal prison system.[83] The expanded ICE funding is expected to lead to mass detentions and deportations, restricted access to asylum, and anticipated economic and humanitarian consequences.[84] As a result,recruitment incentives included a $50,000 sign on bonus and $60,000 college loan forgiveness for sworn police officers.[85]
By July 2025, multiple polls showed a majority of Americans disapproved of the agency, with strongly negative public opinion that surpassed prior negative opinion of it during the 2018 "Abolish ICE" movement.[86] In late August, thePew Research Center reported that its polls showed an increasingly sharp partisan divide in views of ICE, with 72% ofRepublican Party supporters viewing the agency favorably, and 78% of Democratic Party supporters viewing it negatively.[87]
In 2025, three notable attacks targeted ICE facilities in Texas. On July 4,a group gathered at an ICE detention center inAlvarado, setting off fireworks and vandalizing vehicles. At least one gunman in a nearby wooded area allegedly fired a rifle at arriving Alvarado police, injuring one officer.[88] As of January 2026, nineteen individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident,[89] seven of whom pleaded guilty to federal terrorism-related charges in November 2025.[90][91] Major media organizations said this may be the first time that theUnited States Department of Justice has charged anyone with terrorism in connection with alleged domesticantifa activities.[92][93] In an apparently unrelated incident on August 25, a 36-year-old was arrested at a Dallas ICE field office for claiming hehad a bomb and showing officers what he said was a detonator on his wrist.[94][95] The third incident occurred on September 24, when a gunman on a nearby rooftopfired a rifle at a van at the Dallas field office, killing one detainee and critically injuring two others before killing himself.[94] One of the injured victims died six days later.[96]
By November 2025, at least half of ICE's top leadership had been fired or reassigned, and many were replaced with Border Patrol officials. TheChicago Tribune described the shakeup as part of the Trump administration's desire to increase deportations at all costs, noting that Border Patrol's methods were less targeted than ICE's and involved stopping random people on the street and demanding to know their birthplace and citizenship status.[97]
In late November, ICE began conducting a series of immigration raids in New Orleans, Louisiana.[98][99] The operations drew significant public attention and controversy, with Mayor-electHelena Moreno and several members of theNew Orleans City Council issuing statements in December calling for increased transparency and interagency communication regarding federal enforcement activities.[98] As of December 2025, ICE held 68,440 people in detention, nearly 40,000 of whom had no criminal record or only pending charges. Between January and December 2025 the administration had arrested over 328,000 people and deported nearly 327,000.[100]
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Beginning in December 2025, ICE beganOperation Metro Surge inMinnesota, which was characterized by local police and journalists as an escalation in the severity and brutality of ICE tactics,[101] harassment and threats against observers,[102][103] thedetention of US citizens,[104] and the arrest of 3,000 people.[105]
On January 7, 2026, an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-oldRenée Nicole Good during an incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, creating considerable added controversy duringprotests over ICE enforcement actions.[106][107][108][109] A January 22, 2026, nationwide Times/Sinema poll found 63% of Americans thought that as a whole, ICE as an agency had gone "too far".[110]
On January 24, 2026, ICU nurseAlex Pretti was pepper-sprayed, restrained, shot and killed by DHS agents after he attempted to protect a woman who had been shoved to the ground by federal agents. This event transpired at a time when public demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies were widespread.[111][better source needed][112] Government statements in the aftermath stoked added controversy by making claims that contradict video footage taken by other protestors.[112] A January 28 Fox News poll found 58% of Americans thought ICE was "too aggressive", up 10 points since July 2025.[113] Following the killings, Democratic officials in Congress made attempts to reform ICE and CBP, although they were opposed by Republicans.[114]
In response to ICE raids in Los Angeles, federal judges found that ICE was engaging inracial profiling, and ICE ignored a court order to stop its activities in LA.[71] In November 2025, JudgeSara L. Ellis found statements by federal immigration officials defending use of force duringOperation Midway Blitz in Chicago involving "widespread misrepresentations" that "call into question everything that defendants say they are doing in their characterization".[115] In January 2026, Chief Judge for MinnesotaPatrick J. Schiltz wrote that ICE had disobeyed more federal directives in January alone than "some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence", attaching a list of 97 court orders ICE had disobeyed from 74 different immigration cases since January 1 of that year.[116] A Reuters review of six violent encounters found ICE officials making statements that were later contradicted by video and other evidence in court.[115]The Los Angeles Times reported that ICE's "loss of credibility" had resulted in repeated losses in court cases.[117] By February 2026,The New York Times reported "federal judges have found that the Trump administration has been ignoring longstanding legal interpretations that mandate the release of many people who are taken into immigration custody if they post a bond", resulting in lawsuits and many releases.[118]
ICE's aggressive policing tactics and arrests by masked agents in public areas were frequently captured on cameras by bystanders, often leading to accusations of "kidnapping" and were criticized as intentionally seeking to spread fear.[119] ICE's use of masks and balaclavas, military-style tactical gear, and lack of visible identification and uniforms were criticized as intimidation tactics and raised concerns over a lack of accountability.[120][121] ICE has been widely criticized as acting like asecret police, detaining people without charge.[122]The Guardian described criticism of ICE as being portrayed as a "rogue agency" that does Trump's bidding. It described the lines between federal law enforcement and Trump's private armed force as becoming blurred.[123] It wrote:
In the public consciousness, ICE has become defined as Trump's personal rogue agency doing his bidding regardless of accepted norms and laws. They have become a kind of domestic enforcer for Maga's agenda, rounding up "illegals" and deporting what they say are criminals to El Salvador, to face justice in a place without trials. When Trump promised "retribution" in the lead-up to his second presidency, activists say these are now the soldiers carrying it out.[123]
The Atlantic described ICE's lowering of recruitment standards, such as reducing the age to join to 18 years among other efforts as resulting in new recruits "seeing the position not as a federal-law-enforcement career but as a chance to serve as a foot soldier in Trump's mission to bring sweeping social and demographic change"; describing its rapid buildup as a result of Trump officials wanting to "change the agency's character by flooding it with new hires who are inspired by MAGA ideology rather than by the typical perks of a federal badge". It also highlighted existing conservative ICE agents worried that "a historic chance to reform the agency will be squandered by incompetence and shady deals with well-connected contractors".[124]
Existing ICE agents interviewed byThe Atlantic andReuters described low-morale from overwork, describing them as being "vilified by broad swaths of the public and bullied by Trump officials demanding more and more". Agents within ICE's HSI division criticized the shelving of new cases on drugs, human smuggling, and child exploitation in order to make immigration-enforcement arrests. Several career officers were pushed out of leadership roles or quit among several purges of staff. Some ICE officers were described as being "thrilled" by recent changes and the ability to not worry about being too aggressive, while others were disturbed of videos of "officers smashing suspects' car windows and appearing to round up people indiscriminately" as making ICE a "caricature" of itself.[125][126]
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Writing forPolitico,Joshua Zeitz described ICE as transforming "into a massive, un-uniformed, masked domestic army" that "critics fear will have carte blanche to arrest, detain and deport persons without cause or due process, whether they enjoy legal status or not". He added that its aggressive tactics risked backfiring on the administration, and compared increasing agitation over immigration arrests to violent responses among previously uninterested citizens following the passage of theFugitive Slave Act of 1850.[127]
ICE agents received criticism for having detained and imprisoned foreigners at the border with delayed explanation and legal counsel,[128] and in one incident harassed and handcuffedBrad Lander, an opposition politician who was attempting to accompany a man out of a courtroom.[129] ICE's actions have been condemned by some Democratic politicians as designed to "sow terror"[130] and been held up as an example of "political intimidation".[131]
The Economist summarized criticism of the growth of ICE and its true motivations, writing that:
Indeed, the explosive growth of immigration-enforcement agencies seemingly answerable only to Mr Trump has prompted agitated critics to assert that he is creating a paramilitary to cow his political enemies and perhaps even to help rig the midterm elections in November. Mr Trump once urged a mob to storm the Capitol to try to overturn the result of an election he lost, after all. This year, the argument runs, he could claim that immigrants are trying to vote illegally, post menacing ICE agents at polling stations and so frighten Democrat-supporting ethnic minorities into staying at home.[132]
The Economist described ICE's focus on targeting left-leaning and Democratic cities as political, punitive, and not based in immigration enforcement, noting that many cities and states targeted by ICE were not those with the highest percentages of illegal immigrants. CriminologistGeoffrey Alpert described the focus as having "now turned from professional policing to politics".The Economist described a "more obvious interpretation" from left-leaning criticism of ICE as wanting to provoke protestors to violence, "thereby justifying the deployment of federal agents and strengthening the case for a crackdown". White House deputy chief of staffStephen Miller's description of peaceful protestors as "insurrectionists" and "domestic terrorists" was described as a potential prelude to invoking theInsurrection Act.[132]
By January 2026, politicians, journalists, and scholars have increasingly called ICE aparamilitary force.[133]
Writing forThe Conversation, associate professor Erica De Bruin on policing and state security forces stated that ICE fit the first description of a paramilitary as "highly militarized police forces" with "military-grade weapons and equipment" for domestic policing, and partly met the second descrption of a paramilitary as being "repressive political agents". She described ICE as operating with less oversight owing to exemptions from constitutional amendments prohibiting unreasonable search and seizure; acting in more "overtly political ways" such as being deployed against political opponents in non-immigration contexts through policing protests; and that ICE's union endorsed Trump in 2020 with 95% of its members in agreement and was targeting new recruits with far-right messaging. Political scientistElizabeth F. Cohen found that ICE has gathered data to "surveil citizens' political beliefs and activities – including protest actions they have taken on issues as far afield as gun control – in addition to immigrants' rights."[133]
The Economist has described ICE as a paramilitary force and "presidential militia".[134] It compared ICE as the latest example of a long history of paramilitary forces and violence in America, highlighting theTexas Rangers' 1918Porvenir massacre,Grover Cleveland's use of the Army during thePullman Strike of 1894, thePinkerton Detective Agency of the 19th and 20th centuries, and theKu Klux Klan during theReconstruction era; but stated none of the prior groups were as big, well-equipeed or as organized as ICE.[132]
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Ishaan Tharoor ofThe Washington Post wrote that comparisons of ICE to a paramilitary had "wrought unflattering comparisons abroad to unaccountable paramilitary forces" abroad; writing that: "analysts see the expansion of a new "paramilitary" force more aligned with the political dispensation in Washington — with grim implications for the rule of law in the United States". It described foreigners as having increasingly compared ICE to an interior ministry, with former national security, CIA and DHS official Steven Cash writing that DHS and "Its sprawling law-enforcement elements have been remade into a paramilitary force: heavily armed, lightly restrained, and increasingly insulated from meaningful oversight. Immigration enforcement, in particular, has been transformed from a regulatory and investigative function into a domestic security apparatus operating in American communities with a posture that looks far less like civilian law enforcement and far more like internal security services abroad."[135]
Writing forThe Atlantic,Anne Applebaum compared ICE to "a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard" and "a masked and heavily armed paramilitary". Margy O'Harron at NYU'sBrennan Center for Justice said that:[136]
What we now see is a very heavy, militarized law-enforcement presence with very little oversight. You've got ICE agents and their law-enforcement partners using—they're dressed like military soldiers. They are using military weapons. They are rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters. They're using flash-bang grenades to clear out buildings. They're zip-tying the elderly, children as a way of evacuating a building. These are tools that are used by armed soldiers against enemies—not that we use against civilians.
Wired described ICE's Special Response Teams (SRT), CBP's one SRT, and theBorder Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) as "paramilitary tactical units" that "behave not like local police, but instead like special forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other far-flung battlefields from the Forever Wars of the past quarter century."[137] ANew York Times investigation found that ICE and CBP units regularly used military equipment in non-threatening, day-to-day operations. It highlighted the use of suppressors, MAWLs, M-LOK rails, dump pouches, RCM magwells, and with "helmets, camouflage and tactical gear" that "all look straight from the battlefield".[138]
| Part ofa series on the |
| Immigration policy of the second Trump administration |
|---|
Targeting of U.S. citizens |
Targeting of immigrants
|
|
Controversies |
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Demonstrations emerged nationwide in 2025 against ICE's immigration enforcement activity and policies.[75][76][77][78][79] In June 2025, ICE raids in Los Angelessparked protests thatReuters described as the strongest domestic backlash to Trump since he took office in January.[139]
As early as April 2025, public sentiment shifted against deportations, with a majority of Americans finding the amount went "too far",[140][141][142] and Gallup polling showing positive views of immigration as increasing "significantly".[143] In an August 2025 poll byPew Research Center ICE was rated the third least favorably viewed agency in the United States out of 16 that were surveyed ahead of only theDepartment of Justice and theIRS, with 49% approving and 40% disapproving. Views of ICE were also the most polarized among all agencies polled, with Republicans viewing it as their third-most favorably viewed agency polled behind only theNational Weather Service andNational Park Service, with 72% approving and 21% disapproving. While it was the least favorably viewed agency by Democrats, with 78% disapproval and 13% approval.[144] In October 2025, apps used by the public to document and archive videos of ICE activities were removed byApple andGoogle from their respective app stores.[145] Also in October,Meta removed aFacebook group page dedicated to tracking ICE agents, at the Justice Department's request.[146]
In January 2026, following an incident when an individual by the name Renee Goode was shot by ICE agents, across various cities in America, tens of thousands protested the cold inMinneapolis in a procession against the agency and the policies put in place by the Trump administration regarding immigration inAmerica.[147] On January 30, protestors organized a "National Shutdown" to protest ICE actions, with protestors across the country leaving work and school to protest "ICE's reign of terror".[148]
As the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics began, large protests erupted in Milan and other cities across Italy in response to the planned presence of agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[149] These agents were reportedly assigned to the security team for U.S. Vice PresidentJD Vance. The protests, led by student groups, escalated into confrontations near the Milan Olympic Village, where police used tear gas and water cannons against the demonstrators.[150] Additionally, British Olympic skierGus Kenworthy condemned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by creating a graphic message in the snow shortly before the Winter Olympics began.[151]
The agency's aggressive and meme-heavy publicity campaign was run by political appointees in their 20s, and received criticism from political commentators and scholars for being unprofessional and intentionally cruel.[153][154]The Atlantic interviewed current and former ICE officials who criticized a flashy video posted by ICE with rap music, Trump's name, and vehicles with wrappings the color of Trump's private plane costing roughly $100,000 each (with plans to wrap 2,000 more) as "the transformation of ICE from an agency focused on legalistic immigration procedures into a political instrument and propaganda tool".[124] The campaign noticeably re-used WWII-era US propaganda posters, several of which had text that suggested the goal of deportations was to protect American culture, and several of which were accused of promotingwhite nationalism by scholars and historians or were previously promoted by far-right accounts.[155] TheSouthern Poverty Law Center found the DHS using "white nationalist and anti-immigrant images and slogans in recruitment materials" for ICE and that some "images and language appear to come directly from antisemitic and neo-Nazi publications and a white Christian nationalist website".[156]
Several allegations and documented incidents of the agents using excessive force in response to protesters and migrants whether unprovoked or disproportionate to the situation have been documented.[157][158] Violent encounters between ICE, migrants, and protestors have occurred following ICE's adoption of more aggressive tactics and sweeps of neighborhoods.[159]
Following January 2026 killings of American citizens,The Economist wrote that the agency embodies a "macho culture" and has "revelled in the wanton use of force". It described ICE's closing of its internal Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, rush to brand victims and protestors as "terrorists", repeated defiance of court orders, and attempts to ensure all investigations remain under its control as examples of impunity that would lead to more violence.[132] By January 2026,The Washington Post reported that 16 DHS shootings since July 2025 were prematurely declared justified by federal officials before investigations were completed, and no federal officers were held accountable.[160]
The New York Times interviewed several local police chiefs across the country who complained that aggressive ICE tactics were endangering residents, violating civil rights, and reversing efforts since theGeorge Floyd protests to restore public trust in the police.[161]
Various criticism have been made asserting a relationship between ICE andauthoritarianism in the US.[162]The New York Times described the comparisons as a result of the "specter of masked men killing American citizens during protests has raised fears of authoritarianism and talk of resistance, with many residents saying America's 250-year experiment in democracy is imperiled".[148] Critics of ICE have frequently described the agency asfascist or compared it tofascist institutions.[163][164]Rahm Emanuel described ICE as "a lawless mob".[165] Journalist and historianGarrett M. Graff criticized ICE and CBP's domestic policing, comparing its current status as "a fascist secret police" stemming from post-9/11 security policy.[166]
Minnesota GovernorTim Walz described ICE agents as "Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo", referring to theGeheime Staatspolizei, the officialsecret police ofNazi Germany andNazi-occupied Europe thatpersecuted targets of the Nazi regime, includingJews,political opponents, and otherdissenters.[167][168] Analogies and comparisons between ICE and the Gestapo have also been made by several others, including US podcasterJoe Rogan,[169][170] New Jersey SenatorBritnee Timberlake,[171] and US RepresentativeJim McGovern.[171] TheDepartment of Homeland Security blamed such statements for an increase in resistance to ICE activities.[172]
Some have criticized comparisons tothe Holocaust andNazis as risking "oversimplifying andtrivializing history".[173]
Media sources, politicians, and others have described ICE activities, particularly duringOperation Metro Surge, asstate terror.[174][175][176][177]
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ICE maintains domestic offices throughout the United States and detachments at majorU.S. diplomatic missions overseas. ICE personnel (special agents and officers) do not patrol American borders; rather, that role is performed by the Border Patrol.[22][178][179] ERO and HSI operate as two independent law enforcement agencies and have completely separate mission statements. HSI is focused on the disruption of transnational crime, whereas ERO is responsible for the apprehension, detention and removal of undocumented immigrants.[180][better source needed] ICE is responsible for identifying and eliminating border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security vulnerabilities. ICE started the second Trump administration with over 20,000 employees.[181] DHS is recruiting 10,000 new ICE agents. An additional 5,000 personnel from federal law enforcement agencies and 21,000 National Guard troops help arrest undocumented immigrants.[182]
The organization is composed of two law enforcement directorates (HSI and ERO) and several support divisions each headed by a director who reports to an executive associate director.[183][better source needed] The divisions of ICE provide investigation, interdiction and security services to the public and other law enforcement partners in the federal and local sectors.[citation needed] Tensions have existed between ICE's two branches, with HSI agents during Trump's first term seeking to more formally break away from ERO after finding it hampered their ability to conduct investigations due to negative associations with ERO's deportation work.[125] The director of ICE is appointed at the sub-cabinet level by thepresident of the United States,confirmed by theU.S. Senate, and reports directly to thesecretary of homeland security.[184][better source needed][185][better source needed]
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HSI is the primary investigative arm of Department of Homeland Security and consists of more than 10,300 employees who are assigned throughout 30 offices in the U.S. and 52 international offices (41 international sub-offices) around the world.[when?][citation needed] Approximately 6,000 HSI employees are special agents (criminal investigators), making it the second-largest investigative service in the United States, behind the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[187][better source needed]
HSI special agents investigate violations of more than 400 U.S. laws that threaten national security, including counter-proliferation; human smuggling and trafficking; weapons smuggling; narcotics smuggling and trafficking; human rights violations;transnational gang activity; financial crimes, including money laundering and bulk cash smuggling; cyber crime; child exploitation and sex tourism; trade crimes such as commercial fraud andintellectual property theft; smuggling of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and other merchandise; document and benefit fraud; the manufacturing, sale, and use of counterfeit immigration and identity documents; mass-marketing fraud;art theft; international cultural property and antiquities crimes; export enforcement and visa security.[188] HSI agents can be requested to provide security for VIPs, and also augment theU.S. Secret Service during overtaxed times such as special security events and elections.[citation needed]
HSI was formerly known as the ICE Office of Investigations. HSI special agents are Series 1811 criminal investigators and have the statutory authority to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act (Title 8), U.S. customs laws (Title 19), general federal crimes (Title 18), theControlled Substances Act (Title 21), with approval from the Department of Justice, as well as Titles 5, 6, 12, 22, 26, 28, 31, 46, 49, and 50 of the U.S. Code.[citation needed]
Peter Hatch—assistant director of Homeland Security Investigations—announced that ICE had assembled a "tiger team" to pursue international students who had participated inprotests in solidarity withPalestinians during theGaza war.[189][190][191] This team used information from pro-Israeldoxing websiteCanary Mission and radicalZionist organizationBetar, investigating 5,000 listed names.[189][190][191][192] Hatch stated that "more than 75%" of student protesters that ICE targeted for deportation came from these sites.[191]
The largest cadre of special agents are located within Domestic Operations.[193][better source needed] In FY 2020, HSI special agents made 31,915 criminal arrests, rescued or identified 1,012 child exploitation victims, and seized $341 million worth of counterfeit goods, 6,195 pounds (2,810 kg) of fentanyl and $1.8 billion in currency & assets from criminal organizations.[194][better source needed] HSI combats child exploitation, including the sexual exploitation of children; the production, advertisement and distribution of child pornography; and child sex tourism. They also work to identify and arrest those possessing and distributingchild sexual abuse material.[195][failed verification] In 2006, Operation Flicker found that there were a number of government employees, including "dozens of Pentagon staff and contractors with high-level security clearance", who had downloaded child pornography.[196]
The Office of Intelligence employs a variety of special agents and intelligence research specialists to facilitate HSI's tactical and strategic intelligence demands. They collect, analyze, and disseminate information for use by the operational elements of DHS. The Office of Intelligence works closely with the intelligence components of other federal, state, and local agencies. Many HSI field offices assign intelligence analysts to specific groups, such as financial crimes, counter-proliferation, narcotics, ordocument fraud; or they can be assigned to a residential intelligence unit, known as a Field Intelligence Group (FIG). HSI agents assigned to FIGs generally focus on human intelligence (HUMINT) collection.[citation needed]
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International Operations (IO), formerly known as the Office of International Affairs, is a subcomponent of HSI with agents stationed in 60 locations around the world. HSI's foreign offices, known as attaché offices, work with foreign governments to identify and combat transnational criminal organizations before they threaten the United States. IO also facilitates domestic HSI investigations by providing intelligence from host countries, conducting collateral investigations, and facilitating international investigations conducted by field offices within the U.S.[citation needed]
Twenty HSI field offices maintain a Special Response Team (SRT) that operates as a federalSWAT element for each office's area of responsibility.[197][198] SRT was founded under theU.S. Customs Service as the Warrant Entry and Tactical Team and were renamed to SRT in 1998.[197] In 2003, the SRTs were established when ICE was established.[198] As of January 2020, ICE had 20 SRTs with 34 full-time duty officers and 269 collateral duty officers.[198]
The SRT handles HSI's high-risk arrest and search warrants, barricaded subjects, rural area operations, VIP protection, sniper coverage for high-risk operations, and security for designated National Security Events. Active SRTs are located in Tampa, Miami, Phoenix, New Orleans, Houston, New York, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Juan, Detroit, San Francisco, El Paso, Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Buffalo, and Washington, D.C. There is also a team of instructors and coordinators stationed full-time in Columbus, Georgia. These teams primarily deploy to handle high-risk operations, but have also assisted in such events asHurricane Katrina, theHaiti earthquake 2010, and other natural disasters around the globe.[citation needed]
SRT is a collateral duty open to HSI special agents assigned to an office with a certified team. To qualify, candidates must pass a physical fitness test, qualify with multiple firearms by shooting 90 per cent or better in full tactical gear, and pass an oral interview process. Candidates who pass these stages and are voted on the local team are then designated "Green Team" members and allowed to train with the certified team members. Green Team members are eventually sent to the SRT Initial Certification Course at the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs, Tactical Operations Unit atFort Benning, Georgia, where they must pass additional physical fitness, firearms, scenario-based and written assessments.[199][better source needed]
SRTs often conduct training exercises with various federal, state and local teams, and assist other teams during national events or large-scale operations involving multiple high-risk scenarios. The working relationship between the SRTs and theU.S. Department of Defense has led toU.S. Special Operations Command providing the SRTs with excessmine-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs), firearms, and other gear designed for use by U.S.special operations forces.[citation needed]
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Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) primarily deals with the deportation and removal of undocumented immigrants. It is among the most public and contentious functions of ICE. ERO maintains custodial facilities used to detain people who are illegally present[clarification needed] in the United States. In interior offices, ERO officers primarily conduct targeted enforcement operations to apprehend immigrants. At border offices, ERO officers receive and detain undocumented immigrants apprehended by theUnited States Border Patrol.[200]
ERO is responsible for enforcing the federal government's immigration laws and ensuring the departure of removable immigrants from the United States. ERO uses its detention and deportation officers to identify, arrest, and remove immigrants who violate U.S. immigration law. Deportation officers are responsible for the transportation and detention of immigrants in ICE custody to include the removal of immigrants to their country of origin. Deportation officers arrest immigrants for violations of U.S. immigration law, monitor cases during deportation proceedings, supervise released immigrants, and deportation from the United States.[201][better source needed]
Deportation officers operate strategically placed Fugitive Operations Teams whose function is to locate, apprehend, and remove immigrants who have absconded from immigration proceedings and remain in the United States with outstanding warrants for deportation. Due to limited staffing, ERO Fugitive Operations typically target undocumented immigrants with a history of serious criminal convictions (i.e. homicide, sexual assaults, aggravated felonies).[202][better source needed]
ERO manages theSecure Communities program which identifies removable immigrants located in jails and prisons. Fingerprints submitted as part of the normal criminal arrest and booking process will automatically check both the Next Generation Identification (NGI) of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) of the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT Program.[citation needed] ERO was formerly known as the Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO).[203]
The Office of State, Local and Tribal Coordination (OSLTC) is ICE's primary outreach and communications component for state, local and tribal stakeholders. It is responsible for building and improving relationships, and coordinating activities with state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies and through public engagement. It also fosters and sustains relationships with federal, state and local government officials and coordinates ICE ACCESS programs (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security).[citation needed] The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) provides legal advice, training and services to support the ICE mission and defends the interests of the United States in the administrative and federal courts.[citation needed] The Office of Professional Responsibility is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct involving employees of ICE.[citation needed]
ICE Air is the aviation division of ICE that charters aircraft or books commercial flights to send deportees back to their home countries.[204][better source needed][205] There were 10 aircraft used to send deportees in 2017, which increased to 12 by 2026.[204] Deportees have legs and arms secured while boarding, handcuffs are removed during flight and most deportees have no restraints upon disembarking.[205] ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) is a division that is responsible for providing direct patient care to approximately 13,500 detainees housed in 21 detention facilities throughout the nation.[206][better source needed] Their stated mission is to provide the best care to those in ICE custody, practicing on the core values of Integrity, Commitment, Accountability, Service, and Excellence.[207][better source needed] The IHSC team is made up of around 1,000 members that consist of US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers, healthcare professionals, and federal civil service workers.[206][better source needed]
TheFederal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) was aligned into ICE shortly after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. On October 16, 2005, Homeland Security SecretaryMichael Chertoff officially approved the transfer of the Federal Air Marshal Service from the Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the TSA as part of a broader departmental reorganization to align functions consistent with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "Second Stage Review" findings for:[citation needed]
As part of this realignment, the director of the Federal Air Marshal Service also became the assistant administrator for the TSA Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), which houses nearly all TSA law enforcement services.[citation needed] TheFederal Protective Service (FPS) was moved from theGeneral Services Administration (GSA) to ICE upon the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The FPS was later moved out of ICE to the National Protection Programs Directorate.[citation needed]
Originally a part of the U.S. Customs Service's Office of Investigations, theOffice of Air and Marine (then called the Air and Marine Interdiction Division) were transferred to ICE in 2003 during the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, becoming the Office of Air and Marine Operations.[citation needed] Due in part to a 500 million dollar budgetary dispute between CBP and ICE, in 2004, ICE Air and Marine Operations were transferred to CBP. CBP Air and Marine still works closely with ICE to support the agency's domestic and international law enforcement operations.[208][better source needed][209][210][better source needed][211] The Office of Detention Policy and Planning was responsible for developing and maintaining ICE's National Detention Standards, which set out detailed rules for how immigration detainees were to be treated differently than criminal inmates.[212] In April 2017, PresidentDonald Trump decided to close the office and to stop including the standards in new jail contracts.[212]
Newly hired ICE law enforcement personnel receive their training at theFederal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) inGlynco, Georgia. FLETC is the largest law enforcement training facility in the United States. To meet division specific academic and practical instruction, the ICE academies vary in length from 4 to 6 months depending on the position. Furthermore, following graduation, all ICE law enforcement personnel undergo additional post academy training, as well as career-continuous training.[citation needed]
HSI Special Agent trainees must complete the inter-agency Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) and the HSI Special Agent Training Course (HSI SAT).[213][better source needed] HSI special agents also receive significantly advanced training regarding U.S. customs law, warrant service, advanced tactics, undercover operations, criminal interrogation, weapons of mass destruction, and other subjects routinely encountered by HSI special agents in the field. HSI Special Agents typically complete CITP in conjunction with other agencies (i.e. Secret Service, Diplomatic Security Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, and various Office of Inspector Generals, etc.); however, the agency specific HSI SAT course is only attended by HSI trainees and focuses on customs & immigration related investigations.[214][better source needed]
Prior to 2025, ERO Officer trainees had to complete the basic 13-week ERO academy.[215] In 2025, ERO training was cut in half to run six days a week for eight weeks, with Spanish-language courses eliminated and academy training reduced to 47 days allegedly owing to Trump being the 47th president.[124] In January 2026,The Intercept reported on a hiring binge with "shorter training, looser requirements, and flashy bonuses", leading to evidence of incompetence on display, as in humiliating "videos of agents falling down and dropping their guns" going viral on social media.[216] The former director of ICE,John Sandweg, described the situation bluntly: "We've lowered our standards."[216] Specific course curriculum is kept confidential, but both ERO officers and HSI special-agent new hires undergo training related to basic law enforcement tactics, immigration law, firearms training, emergency response driving, and Constitutional law.[citation needed]
In 2025, it was reported that ICE agents use afacial recognition app calledMobile Fortify.[217][218] According to documentation from theUS Department of Homeland Security, the app draws from databases from the CBP Traveler Verification Service including photos taken at airports when people enter and exit the US, and can provide information including a subject's name, date of birth, possible citizenship status, and whether the subject's visa might have expired,[217] and the DHS Seizure and Apprehension Workflow.[218] In December 2025,Politico reported that ICE's large purchases of high-tech surveillance equipment expected to total at least $300 million coupled with lowered administration guardrails on data collection via executive order workarounds on federal data privacy standards showed that "the agency itself is signaling a shift in its enforcement policy, looking beyond immigrants and toward American critics of its officers' behavior".[219]
In September 2025, ICE signed a contract of $10 million withClearview AI, making it their largest contract to date, with the second-largest being $2.3 million in 2021 for facial recognition software that controversially scrapes images from social media for face printing.[220][221] ICE has been criticized for its deal withParagon Solutions, a spyware company whose tool, Graphite, enables remote access to mobile phones, including encrypted apps. The $2 million contract, initially signed under the Biden administration but paused under a 2023 executive order restricting spyware linked to misuse abroad, was reactivated in 2025 by the second Trump administration. Paragon faced scrutiny after its software was reportedly used to target journalists, migrant advocates, and associates ofPope Francis in Italy. Civil liberties advocates, including SenatorRon Wyden, warned of threats to due process and human rights. Senator Wyden expressed concern about potential abuses, stating he had requested a briefing from ICE and was "extremely concerned about how ICE will use Paragon’s spyware to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone whoDonald Trump labels as an enemy". Michael De Dora, U.S. Policy and Advocacy Manager atAccess Now, stated that the technology has been misused globally to target human rights defenders and dissidents, and warned of serious risks of domestic repression.[222][223]
TheElectronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) also criticized the move, citing a lack of legal safeguards and potential harm to privacy, immigrant communities, and democratic oversight.[224][225] Concerns were raised over a $30 million no-bid contract awarded toPalantir Technologies to develop "ImmigrationOS", a data system designed to help ICE prioritize deportations by merging government and private data. While aimed at targeting visa overstayers and alleged gang members, civil rights advocates warned the system could easily be repurposed to surveil or target U.S. citizens, including political opponents of President Trump. Trump had reportedly suggested removing not just immigrants but also U.S. citizens deemed dangerous and said he ordered Attorney GeneralPam Bondi to investigate. Cooper Quintin, Senior Staff Technologist at the EFF, cautioned that the system's extensive data aggregation capabilities could be misused by authorities to prosecute individuals based on selective criteria, raising serious privacy and civil rights concerns.[226]
In September 2025, Trump labeled "Antifa" a "domestic terrorist organization", and issued an executive order to all federal agencies to investigate it. ICE acting director, Todd Lyons, said in an interview that ICE will investigate anti-ICE protester networks, "to track the money. We are going to track these ringleaders ... and ... professional agitators". In October 2025, reporterRachel Maddow warned that ICE's new surveillance resources – including their spyware, which can be covertly inserted into anyone's phone from a drone hovering over a protest, and iris-scanning software that can be used from a smartphone, correlating instantly to a current massive database of such data – can be used to target and spy on anyone without a warrant, including anyone opposing the current administration. Former officials, Democratic politicians, and civil rights advocates, have complained that ICE is now permitted and empowered to engage in sweeping surveillance of Americans engaging in constitutionally permissible political action.[227][228]
Efforts have been made to combine personal data from multiple federal agencies to support immigration enforcement. This included records from theSSA,IRS,OPM,HHS, and others.[229] It's been reported that the administration is using the data to detect visa overstays, identify undocumented individuals, and cross-reference benefits usage with immigration status.[230] ICE has also accessed a database of health and car insurance claims as part of the deportation effort.[231] Civil groups and several state attorneys general argue these practices violate thePrivacy Act of 1974 by failing to publish legally required notices in theFederal Register.[232] In June 2025, twenty states filed lawsuits alleging that DOGE's access to Medicaid and benefit data was used to facilitate immigration raids, disproportionately impacting mixed-status families.[233]
| Model | Type | Caliber | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glock 17 | Semi-automatic pistol | 9x19mm Parabellum | Previously issued sidearm |
| Glock 19 | Semi-automatic pistol | 9x19mm Parabellum | Previously issued sidearm |
| H&K USPC | Semi-automatic pistol | .40 S&W | Previously issued sidearm |
| Beretta 96 | Semi-automatic pistol | .40 S&W | Previously issued sidearm |
| SIG-Sauer P229 DAK[234] | Semi-automatic pistol | .40 S&W | Previously issued sidearm |
| SIG-Sauer P320C[235] | Semi-automatic pistol | 9x19mm Parabellum | Standard sidearm since 2017 |
| M4 carbine | Assault rifle | 5.56×45mm NATO | |
| Remington 870shotgun[236] | Shotgun | 12-gauge |
The agency has a list of personally owned weapons that are authorized for duty and off duty carry. These weapons must be inspected and approved by the agency's firearms unit. The agents and officers must qualify with the weapon every three months.[236][better source needed] Asnon-lethal options, special agents and officers are armed with the expandable metalbaton andpepper spray.[236][better source needed]
ICE agents have usedbalaclavas to conceal their identities.[237][238]Tom Homan,Border Czar under Trump, defended ICE agents' use of such identity-concealing face masks, stating, "ICE officers wear a mask because they’ve beendoxxed by the thousands", continuing, "Their families have been doxxed. ICE officers’ pictures show up on trees and telephone poles. Death threats are sky-high."[238] In response to ICE's masking practice, California passed theNo Secret Police Act, ananti-mask law to prevent federal agents from wearing masks during their raids.[239]
Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g) allows ICE to establish increased cooperation and communication with state, and local law enforcement agencies. Section 287(g) authorizes thesecretary of homeland security to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions, pursuant to a memorandum of agreement (MOA), provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn ICE officers. Under 287(g), ICE provides state and local law enforcement with the training and subsequent authorization to identify, process, and when appropriate, detain undocumented immigrants they encounter during their regular, daily law-enforcement activity under the Task Force Model.[240]
The 287(g) program is one of several ICE ACCESS (ICE "Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security") programs that increase collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration enforcement agents.[241][better source needed] 287(g) agreements increased from 135 in January 2025 to 649 in June 2025.[242]
ICE ERO operates detention centers throughout the United States that detain people who are apprehended and placed into removal proceedings. Reports highlight deaths of people apprehended or held in detention.[243] Dora Schriro, a senior Homeland Security official acknowledging explicitly that "most detainees are - systematically and unnecessarily - held under circumstances inappropriate for immigration detention’s noncriminal purposes".[244] Due to the United States detention bed quota, mandated by Congress, that number will increase rather than decrease. The quota mandates at least 34,000 beds available for immigrants on any given day.[245][246][better source needed] Under the Trump administration, the number of people being detained on any given day increased to 52,500 in early June 2019.[247]
Engineering and construction firmKellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) released a press statement on January 24, 2006, that the company had been awarded a no-bid contingency contract from the Department of Homeland Security to support its ICE facilities in the event of an emergency. The maximum total value of the contract is $385 million and consists of a one-year base period with four one-year options. KBR held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005. The contract provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to expand existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, the company said.[248]
The Intercept published a report by theDHSOffice of Inspector General revealing that 1,224 sexual abuse complaints while in immigration custody were filed between January 2010 and June 2017. Contrary to ICE's claims, only 2% of these complaints were investigated.[249][250] In 2020, theKino Border Initiative received 442 reports of alleged abuse by US agents, meaning 18% of new arrivals were allegedly abused by a US official.[251]
In 2020, multiple human rights groups joined a whistleblower to accuse theprivately ownedIrwin County Detention Center inOcilla, Georgia offorcibly sterilizing women. The reports claimed a doctor conducted unauthorized medical procedures on women detained by ICE.[252] The whistleblower, Dawn Wooten, was a nurse and former employee. She alleged that a high rate of sterilizations were performed on Spanish-speaking women and women who spoke various Indigenous languages common in Latin America. Wooten said the center did not obtain proper consent for these surgeries, or lied to women about the medical procedures. More than 40 women submitted testimony in writing to document these abuses, one attorney said.[253] Jerry Flores, a faculty member at theUniversity of Toronto Mississauga said the alleged treatment of women constituted a violation of human rights andgenocide according to the standards of the United Nations.[252]Just Security of theNew York University School of Law said the U.S. bore "international responsibility for the forced sterilization of women in ICE detention".[254] In September 2020, Mexico demanded more information from US authorities on medical procedures performed on migrants in detention centers, after allegations that six Mexican women were sterilized without their consent. Another woman said she had undergone a gynecological operation, although there was nothing in her detention file to support she agreed to the procedure.[255]
In 2020, CNN reported that Muslim detainees at a federal immigration facility inMiami, Florida, were repeatedly served pork or pork-based products against their religious beliefs, according to claims made by immigrant advocates.[102][256][257] There are dozens of Muslim detainees at the facility for whom it is religiouslyforbidden to consume pork, civil rights groups said in a letter to ICE and federal oversight agencies.[102] The Muslim detainees at the Krome detention facility in Miami were forced to accept pork because religiously compliant/halal meals that ICE served had been consistently rotten and expired.[102] In one instance, theChaplain at Krome's allegedly dismissed pleas from Muslim detainees for help, saying, "It is what it is."[103]
A letter by civil rights lawyers stated "Many have suffered illness, like stomach pains, vomiting, and diarrhea, as a result."[103] A spokesman claimed that ICE did not deny any "reasonable and equitable opportunity for persons to observe their religious dietary practices". Representatives of the facility, including the chaplain did not respond to requests for comment.[257] Previously in 2019, a Pakistani-born man with a valid American work permit was reportedly given nothing but pork sandwiches for six consecutive days.[103]
From 2012 to early 2018, ICE wrongfully arrested and detained 1,480 U.S. citizens, including many who spent months or years in immigration detention.[258] A 2018Los Angeles Times investigation found that ICE's reliance on incomplete and error-prone databases and lax investigations led to the erroneous detentions.[258] From 2008 to 2018, ICE was sued for wrongful arrest by more than two dozen U.S. citizens, who had been detained for periods ranging from one day to over three years. Some of the wrongfully detained U.S. citizens had been arrested by ICE more than once.[258] The inaccurate government data that ICE used had shown that both immigrants and U.S. citizens were both targets of being detained. In 2019, a detained U.S. citizen stated that he lost 26 pounds (12 kg) in 23 days due to lack of food.[259]
As part of the 2018Trump administration's zero tolerance policy, nearly 3,000[260] minors were separated from their parents, or the adults accompanying them, while trying to illegally cross theU.S.–Mexico border and placed in detention camps.[261][262]Rolling Stone likened these centers to "prisons" whileThe Houston Chronicle reported that a movement swelled online to call them "concentration camps".[263][264] Similarly, former first lady of the United StatesLaura Bush compared the images of the centers toU.S. Japanese internment camps during the Second World War.[265] The former head of ICE,John Sandweg, was critical of child separation, telling NBC News, "You could easily end up in a situation where the gap between a parent's deportation and a child's deportation is years", and that many children might never see their parents again.[266]
Detained children have also been given up for adoption. In a series of court cases, foster families were successfully able to gain full custody of migrant children that they were housing without notifying their parents.[267] Most notably, the agency Bethany Christian Services, an agency that facilitates the care of foster children in Michigan has been criticized for promoting adoption of migrant children instead of trying to reunite them with their families. In a previous Facebook post, they had waived the previous $550 international adoption application fee for the month of June.[268] This had led to public outcry and protests have been held against this agency and their practices.[269] This policy in particular has led to theAbolish ICE movement gaining traction in June 2018.[270] InThe Undocumented Americans, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio describes individuals who experienced persistent fear that any knock at the door could signal the arrival of ICE agents to detain them. She recounts cases of people installing security cameras and avoiding answering the door to protect themselves and their families.[271]
.svg)
Sanctuary cities are cities that limit their cooperation with ICE ERO, particularly in regards to individuals arrested for state criminal violations. These jurisdictions generally do not honor ICE detainer requests to notify the agency and hold individuals beyond their normal release time.[272] Sanctuary city policies address constitutional concerns about detaining individuals without probable cause, viewing immigration violations as civil rather than criminal matters.[273]
Sanctuary cities were one of the many focal points for the Trump administration's attempts to reform the country's immigration policies. In early 2017, President Trump issuedan executive order to deny sanctuary cities federal grants if they did not comply with ICE.[274] By November 2017, this order was struck down by theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California.[275] Despite this, the Trump administration continued to seek ways to challenge sanctuary cities, such as implementing a policy that preferentially awards policing grants that cooperate with ICE.[276]
By January 2026,The Associated Press reported that a "broad cultural revolt" against ICE and Trump's immigration agenda was forming across American culture, business, sports, and entertainment.[277] On January 28,Bruce Springsteen released the anti-ICE protest song "Streets of Minneapolis", in which he describes "a city aflame fought fire and ice 'neath an occupier's boots" and ICE as "King Trump's private army".[278] Multiple celebrities at the68th Annual Grammy Awards used the event to criticize ICE.[279]
Paul Thomas Anderson's 2025 filmOne Battle After Another, an adaptation ofThomas Pynchon's 1990 novelVineland, begins with a raid on an ICE facility to free detainees[280] and, according toThe New Yorker, features "relentless government persecution of immigrants" and "the Army working closely with heavily militarized police".[281]
In October 2025,Zach Bryan, an American country music singer-songwriter, posted an audio snippet onto hisInstagram account of a partial recording of an unreleased song called "Bad News" with lyrics which appeared to be critical of tactics used by some ICE agents deployed in cities around the country.[282][283] Many country music fans expressed displeasure with the song on social media.[284] News of reactions to the song was significant enough to elicit a response from a spokesperson for theDonald Trump administration'sDepartment of Homeland Security.[285][286] Bryan said that the partial lyrics which can be heard in the snippet have been misinterpreted on social media and that the full song, when released, will reveal a wider context that "hits on both sides of the aisle".[287]
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced the creation of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a new agency to handle the federal government's immigration and customs functions.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforces federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration to promote homeland security and public safety.
The Fiscal Year 2022 budget for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is $8.1 billion, supporting a workforce of over 20,000 employees.
A growing number of politicians and advocacy groups are calling for significant reforms or even the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to its controversial practices.
As of October 2023, ICE held approximately 30,000 individuals in detention facilities across the United States.
Migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela could be quickly expelled.
Last month, the Pentagon authorized the mobilization of up to 700 Department of Defense personnel to support ICE in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
Still, the fact that the findings are similar across multiple polls testing various questions about ICE suggests Americans have truly soured to a new degree on the agency – even as it's set to undergo a massive expansion.
nyt was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)Protests in Los Angeles against raids on suspected undocumented immigrants have turned into the strongest domestic backlash against President Donald Trump since he took office in January.
Just over half, 52%, say Trump has gone too far in deporting undocumented immigrants, up from 45% in February. A similar 52% now say that Trump's immigration policies have not made the US safer. And most, 57%, say that they do not believe the federal government is being careful in following the law while carrying out deportations.
About half of Americans say Trump has "gone too far" when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. About one-third say his approach has been "about right", and about 2 in 10 say he's not gone far enough.
A majority of Americans (54%) describe the actions of ICE in upholding immigration laws as having gone too far.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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