ICE and US border protection – who is behind the authorities?

questions and answers

ICE and US border protection – who is behind the authorities?

In quick succession, two people died during operations by US officials in Minneapolis. The keyword ICE comes up again and again in this context. Who or what is behind this term?

When it comes to reports about the fatal incidents in Minneapolis, the US federal agency ICE is always the focus. Their raids against migrants, some with officers wearing masks, are met with a lot of resistance in democratically governed US cities and are also putting the US government of President Donald Trump under increasing pressure. Images of children being targeted by officials are not well received by everyone in their own camp. Trump is now adopting a somewhat milder tone – but he has not yet shown any sign of a fundamental departure from his rigorous deportation policy.

So who are the armed forces that he has already sent to several US cities for his raids? And what are their powers?

The US immigration agency ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a federal agency under the US Department of Homeland Security that is primarily responsible for enforcing customs and immigration laws. It carries out raids and is responsible for deportations, especially as part of the stricter migration policy of the government of US President Donald Trump. ICE also operates facilities in which migrants are detained until they are deported – such as the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in a huge swamp area in the US state of Florida.

There are several directorates, of which the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) units appear particularly frequently:

According to its own information, ICE employs around 22,000 people. This means that the number of officials and agents more than doubled within the first year of the second Trump presidency. Investigators or deportation officers wear either civilian clothes or uniforms with “ICE” or “POLICE” written on them.

ICE powers come from federal law. The authority can arrest and detain foreigners who are suspected of violating immigration rules – and also take action against those who hinder an arrest. In addition, it may “interview any alien or person presumed to be an alien about his or her right to remain in the United States,” as the US Congress says.