Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is more controversial than ever, but the agency is critical for enforcing federal immigration law, ensuring our nation’s borders are respected.
Over the last few weeks, Americans seen constant news coverage of the absolute chaos in the streets of Minneapolis, with constant protests and, most disturbingly, the death of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot to death by ICE and border patrol agents.
What many Americans once viewed as a bipartisan law enforcement agency is now seen by many as no less than a Gestapo terror group. While some actions by ICE agents have been alarming, applying such rhetoric to ICE in general is dangerous and undermines the rule of law.
What is ICE?
In 2002, ICE was created under the Homeland Security Act following the 9/11 attacks, which formed the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.”
While Border Patrol focuses on securing the southern border and preventing illegal entry into the United States, ICE focuses on deporting illegal aliens with final orders of removal as required by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Illegal immigrants have been arrested, detained and deported under every administration since ICE’s inception.
Biden’s disastrous immigration policies
After a strong immigration policy in President Donald Trump’s first administration, President Joe Biden’s election in 2020 brought about a radical change in immigration policy. The Biden administration reversed nearly every Trump policy and loosened border policy in drastic ways, resulting in an unprecedented number — millions of undocumented immigrants — crossing the border and entering the country, overwhelming border patrol agents.
Biden’s reckless policies allowed human trafficking and drug smuggling to flourish, and allowed thousands of dangerous criminals to enter the country. Despite being framed by liberal media as compassionate, Biden’s policies were anything but. Not only did his policies endanger the safety of both Americans and immigrants making the dangerous journey north, but they sent a message to the world that the United States doesn’t enforce its own immigration laws, effectively making it a borderless nation without sovereignty.
Chaos in Minneapolis
In response to unrestricted immigration of the Biden era, Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. In early January, Trump sent 2,000 ICE agents to Minneapolis. Since then, we’ve seen constant protests in the streets, businesses refusing to cooperate with ICE, and people reporting the live location of agents, where individuals then gather to harass and assault them (and those mistaken as ICE agents) and impede law enforcement operations.
Tragically, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by ICE agents. According to DHS, Good had been stalking ICE agents and impeding their work along with other agitators. She was shot when she accelerated her SUV toward an ICE officer.
According to DHS policy, lethal force is justified when the agent finds himself in “imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.” It’s likely the agent believed he was in such facing such a threat.
Although Good shouldn’t have been there impeding law enforcement and recklessly driving toward an officer, her death was unnecessary and awful. The agent could have gotten out of the way without firing a shot. His shot didn’t stop the acceleration of the vehicle. She should be alive today.
Pretti was shot by border patrol agents after one of them shouted, “He’s got a gun,” and an agent removed his gun from the holster. Pretti didn’t pose any imminent threat to the officers; he was shot while being restrained. This was another horrific, preventable death.
The rise in anti-ICE rhetoric and violence
It’s essential to contextualize these incidents to a time when ICE officers are constantly being stalked, harassed, assaulted, doxxed and threatened. Assaults on ICE officers rose 690% in 2025. ICE agents are increasingly on edge and fearing for their lives.
It’s no surprise that violence against ICE officers has been exploding as of late, as rhetoric from Democratic leaders and mainstream media outlets has been escalating against ICE. Democrats and media outlets have called ICE agents terrorists, Nazis and thugs.
News outlets have been quick to put the worst behavior from ICE officers on the front page, such as violence and arrests of U.S. citizens, while failing to give any credit to the Trump administration for the dramatic decline in crime rates across the board after Trump’s inauguration. Many reports on Good’s tragic death failed to mention that last summer, that same agent was dragged 100 yards by a car that sped away while his arm was stuck in the window.
Despite the anti-ICE narrative, the agency is making cities safer: 70% of individuals arrested by ICE have criminal records or pending charges, and while violent criminals make up 5% of arrests, based on the massive number of overall deportations in 2025, ICE removed an estimated tens of thousands of violent criminals from America’s streets.
By failing to provide essential context and focusing on ICE’s worst behavior, democratic leaders and media reporters paint an image of ICE as violent thugs while completely ignoring their actions to keep American streets safe. This inflammatory rhetoric leads to protests and violent riots, which impede ICE from conducting lawful enforcement operations. It also puts agents in great danger.
What can be done
While I support ICE, I acknowledge the terror it sows on migrant communities of mostly good people who simply want to live a better life. Worst of all, ICE agents and border patrol officers have now shot and killed two Americans. Clearly, ICE needs to continue enforcement while ending practices that violate rights and jeopardize public safety. But calling for the abolition of ICE and encouraging citizens to obstruct removal operations is not the answer.
Both of these moves simply put more lives at risk. Democratic leaders and media outlets need to take responsibility and stop promoting these dangerous ideas, and journalists should be more balanced and nuanced, continuing to report on ICE atrocities while reporting on its successes.
People who are outraged should exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and protest, while not breaking the law and interfering with law enforcement operations.
The Trump administration, for its part, should stop flooding cities with thousands of agents. It should also work to foster more diplomatic, cordial relationships with governors and local leaders based on shared values and compromise.
The Trump administration needs to listen to the American people and change the way ICE conducts its operations in a way that respects human dignity.
