Recently Released Public Records Detail The Extent Of ICE’s Deadly Force Problem
It almost always takes a lawsuit to force the government to give up information that doesn’t present it in the best light. That’s the case here, where litigation has finally forced ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to hand over ICE use of force records.
There are plenty of reasons to deeply dislike ICE and/or desire it to be wished into the federal cornfield. These documents — obtained by journalists and shared between Business Insider, The Trace, and Type Investigations — provide more reasons for abolishing one of the most abusive entities involved in handling immigration and securing our borders.
ICE may not have racked up the kills at the same rate as other large law enforcement agencies, but for an agency that’s supposed to be handling a calmer end of the criminal spectrum (you know, immigration and customs enforcement), it’s still done plenty of killing.
Public records obtained through litigation show that Ramos’s shooting was not an isolated case. It was one of 59 shootings by ICE officers from 2015 to 2021 that took place across 26 states and two US territories, including two that were self-inflicted. At least 24 people were injured in the shootings.
Twenty-three were killed.
That’s likely an undercount. While this is the most comprehensive look into ICE’s use-of-force habits to date, the report notes what was obtained is filled with redactions and missing essential information on at least 18 of the shootings that would give a clearer picture as to the circumstances surrounding these shootings. There’s also nothing in the released documents that indicates any officers were ever disciplined for deploying excessive force. This either means ICE has decided to withhold these records or that ICE simply has never disciplined officers over force deployment.
Chances are, it never has held an officer accountable, though. As the BI’s report points out, ICE says it turns over all use-of-force investigations to whatever local law enforcement agency it happened to be working with when these shootings occurred. Other times, ICE claims the FBI handled the investigation.
But in the files — which include an almost completely redacted use-of-force policy — show almost none of these alleged outside investigations were ever completed. The law enforcement agencies ICE claimed to have given the dubious privilege of investigating ICE-involved shootings either refused to comment or denied having followed through with the investigations dumped in their lap by departing ICE agents.
In October 2019, for example, a deportation officer fired his weapon in Metairie, Louisiana. ICE said that while no one was struck or injured, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office would investigate. But the sheriff’s office told the local NBC affiliate that it never opened an investigation. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s not clear the fatal shooting of Mario Bass in Virginia was investigated either, once the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office found it didn’t have the authority to investigate. The office said it turned over all of its investigative files to the FBI, but the FBI press office said the bureau could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation and declined to comment further.
The DHS is the entity that technically should be overseeing these investigations since ICE is a DHS component and often partners with HSI (Homeland Security Investigtions) when handling things like suspected drug trafficking. But it too seems to have decided it’s someone else’s problem to make sure ICE officers aren’t breaking laws or violating rights.
What is clear is that ICE needs more oversight. And its agents need far more training when it comes to deadly force deployment.
DHS’s 2018 use-of-force policy says that shooting to disable a moving vehicle is prohibited. But the Nashville incident was one of 18 shootings we identified that appear to have involved a moving vehicle, including several car chases. These shootings were connected to at least nine deaths and six injuries.
The use-of-force policy says agents should try to place the public in as little danger as possible when discharging a weapon. Yet in many of the incidents we reviewed, agents may have put civilian safety at risk. Twenty-one shootings took place in public spaces, such as parking lots or traffic intersections.
Statements offered to reporters by ICE claim the agency holds its officers to the highest standards. But it clearly doesn’t. The incidents uncovered in the released documents show ICE agents are no different than local beat cops when it comes to deadly force. Nearby citizens are just expected to catch the occasional stray bullet — something presented as a small price to pay for living in nation blessed to be overseen by these fearless protectors of public safety.
And if you’ve been a victim of violent acts by an ICE agent, you’re just fucked. Bivens lawsuits (named after pretty much the last person to succeed in a civil rights lawsuit against federal officers) are a non-starter. The Supreme Court has regularly overturned Appeals Court decisions finding in favor of plaintiffs by declaring any clear rights violations that weren’t exactly like those experienced by Webster Bivens himself to be an unlawful “expansion” of its original findings. When it comes to suing federal agents, your best best is to be named Bivens and to have your rights violated 53 years ago.
Given this, it’s unsurprising ICE agents engage in violent, dangerous acts. There are no deterrents. The DHS doesn’t care. The FBI doesn’t care. Local law enforcement agencies are unable or unwilling to perform investigations of questionable force deployment. The courts refuse to hold federal agents accountable. And the agency itself isn’t even willing to share its use-of-force policy with the public. What’s happening now will continue to happen for years to come.