ICE and the Rise in Police Violence
Despite violent crime dropping, police violence continues to increase as ICE contributes to even more law enforcement brutality
Federal law enforcement agencies aren’t typically considered police, as their policing powers at the local and state level are limited, thanks to the Tenth Amendment. However, since the advent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its child agencies, there has been a concerted effort to blur the lines between federal and state law enforcement powers. Federal agents wearing attire with the word “police” emblazoned on it highlight this effort.
As violent crime continues on a downward trend, with the lowest overall crime rates in more than half a century in 2024, police violence continues to increase. While the most significant increases between 2015 and 2022 were seen in Latino (27.1 times) and Black (20.4 times) communities in urban areas, there has also been a spike in police violence in rural America, according to a peer-reviewed study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2024.
Part of the study’s focus on police violence in rural areas highlighted how statistics are usually related to local policing agencies, but that 56% of police shootings in rural America are done by sheriff’s departments, state police, or other agencies. To ensure broader accountability, violence and misconduct by all law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Border Patrol, must be thoroughly investigated and addressed.
“We often use ‘police’ as shorthand for agencies that engage in law enforcement and other policing activities,” said Lead investigator Julie A. Ward, PhD, MN, RN, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society and Public Policy Studies at Vanderbilt University. “But this research makes it clear that if we only focus on improving accountability among local police departments, we will miss a big part of the picture experienced by nonurban residents. This suggests potential for wide-reaching prevention nationally if local and national responses include nonurban jurisdictions and nonurban police and sheriffs’ departments.”
While the 2024 study doesn’t cover the current violence by federal agents, it highlights just how limited our tracking of law enforcement violence still is and why it should be updated to include all agencies. Broad violations of civil liberties have never been just a local police problem. But under the current Trump administration, it has become a broader issue with rank-and-file federal agents committing abuses that must be addressed alongside all other forms of state-sponsored brutality and violence.
During Trump’s first term, he acted similarly by advising police departments to violate people’s rights, even suggesting being abusive. He would later go on to claim he had the military and the police on his side, along with bikers and other supposed “tough guys.” His second term has been riddled with even more extreme rhetoric, emboldening law enforcement through White House staff wrongly advising federal agents that they have immunity from prosecution. This has led to the explosion in violence by federal agents being weaponized against the population.
We must also remember that police brutality does not solely include killings. Thousands of cases every year of police using violent, excessive force and committing sexual assaults are overlooked. Discussions about racial profiling leading to wrongful arrests, “tesltilying” in court to secure convictions, and myriad types of misconduct cases aren’t nearly as broad as they should be. It could be argued that this complacency is one major reason why we’re witnessing the weaponization of the federal government against civilians through its law enforcement agencies.
Not only has ICE been bolstered by thousands of agents from various agencies, but it also boasts and funds more than a thousand local and state law enforcement agencies to participate in its lawlessness through its 287g program. Meanwhile, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott has been lobbying U.S. military generals to also participate via verbal agreements, likely due to the illegality of such a request.
ICE and federal agents aren’t just harming and killing people on U.S. streets; they are also killing people in detention and through inhumane deportations. As Border Patrol brings its unique and largely quiet brand of violence to the front lines in U.S. towns and cities, the brutality only promises to get much worse before it gets better. Whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not, no one is immune to DHS’s overreach into our personal lives. So far, more than 170 citizens that we know of have been wrongfully arrested and detained, a statistic the government doesn’t track.
With the likelihood of more U.S. citizens being detained, migrants missing from detention centers, and police, alongside federal agents, shirking accountability while the slow-moving justice system lumbers on, the White House is only being emboldened by how law enforcement agencies are operating. They appear to be enjoying what they’re doing and are willing to go as far as they need to maintain their level of hatred for their own people.
I’m an independent investigative journalist who enjoys digging deeper into the stories you see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, Orinoco Tribune, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.