Immigrations and Custom Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, was formed just 23 years ago, in 2002, as part of the Homeland Security Act. At its inception, ICE assumed the duties of the US Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS. In a 2018 interview with NPR, former INS General Counsel Bo Cooper stated that the absorption of INS was necessary because it was responsible for both providing benefits to immigrants and enforcing immigration law. The Bush Administration felt that INS was not up to the task of immigration enforcement due to its dual responsibility.
ICE’s stated purpose is to “protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” Unfortunately, the ICE of today is a masked police force acting at the behest of the President and his syncophantic Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem.
Originally, ICE under the Bush Administration had little to do with national security and public safety. Instead, it was used primarily for workforce enforcement actions, a fact that Bush regularly trumpeted as a success. Its mission evolved under the Obama Administration, which recognized the need for prosecutorial discretion in enforcement and designated three groups for increased enforcement. The first group were those immigrants who posed a threat to national security or public safety. The second group were recent immigrants who had crossed the border illegally, rather than those who had lived and worked in their communities, often with their family, for years. The final group consisted of those who had interfered with immigration proceedings, for example, by ignoring a lawful deportation order or falsifying documentation.
And then came Trump, and out went any prosecutorial discretion. Indeed, on January 25, 2017, Trump issued an Executive Order setting out seven categories of immigrants to be targeted for enforcement, but stressing that ALL violations of immigration law carried the same weight. Even worse, one of the categories of those to now be targeted for enforcement included anybody who “in the judgement of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security.” In other words, ICE officers were now empowered to decide what constituted a threat to public safety or national security.
ICE During the First Trump Administration
The results of this new policy were unsurprisingly horrific. According to ICE data, the monthly number of those detained with a misdemeanor on their record rose from 6,000 in March 2015 to 9,500 in April 2019. Simultaneously, the number of those detained with a felony on their record decreased from 7,500 to 6,000. Additionally, approximately 1 in 10 of those detained in Fiscal Year 2017 had no criminal record whatsoever.
Closer to home, residents of Grand Rapids may remember the apprehension of Jilmar Ramos-Gomez. In 2018, decorated veteran Jilmar Ramos-Gomez was apprehended after damaging a fire alarm and trespassing on the helipad at Butterworth Hospital. What should have been a local police matter was blown out of proportion when a Grand Rapids Police Officer contacted ICE to report his belief that Ramos-Gomez was not a citizen. This claim was patently false. However, Ramos-Gomez was apprehended by ICE and held in Kent County jail for three days before being released. This prompted Kent County to change its mode of cooperation with ICE to ensure constitutional protections. The Administration’s response? Labeling Kent County a “Sanctuary” zone. Nothing could be further from the truth.
ICE During the Second Trump Administration
Looking back now, it seems the baseless apprehension of Ramos-Gomez was a canary in our coal mine. The Second Trump Administration, which makes the awful days of the first administration seem quaint by comparison, has been squarely centered on a racist scheme to apprehend people that they suspect are not Americans due to their name or the color of their skin. We have seen this play out in stark terms in major cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles.
As we’ve seen across the country, ICE has also been apprehending immigrants in Kent County as they arrive for hearings on their immigration status. In other words, those who are trying to work through the system legally are having their rights trampled on. For example, on June 4, ICE apprehended a refugee who had intended to return to El Salvador in a matter of days. The return was delayed because ICE took away the passports that the man needed in order to return. The rest of the family sought sanctuary at Fountain Street Church. The man, after being detained in unsanitary conditions, was ultimately reunited with his family in El Salvador. One may wonder the point of putting a man through all of this when he already intended to return home to El Salvador. As they say, the cruelty is the point.
And then, the bill that some find big and beautiful juiced ICE funding at an unprecedented rate, to the tune of an additional $45 billion for immigrant detention and $32 billion for increased apprehension. There is even more…$13.5 billion to state and local police departments to use for apprehension and $1 billion to convert military capability to immigration enforcement. Congressional Republicans, it seems, chose to reward Trump’s irresponsibility during his first term with even more resources to waste on apprehending hardworking members of our community.
Closer to Home
ICE’s boot print is also felt in our own backyard. North Lake Processing Center (NLPC), a detention facility in Baldwin, reopened in June after receiving a new contract from ICE. The prison had been closed since 2022, when the federal government ended all contracts with for-profit prisons. The NLCP is now the largest detention center in the Midwest. According to the ACLU of Michigan, prior to closure in 2022, six reported hunger strikes were organized, primarily led by Black immigrants demanding medical care, better food, and an end to discriminatory confinement in the Restricted Housing Unit. The ACLU also reports that those detained were forced to clean the facility for as low as $1 per day. Unfortunately, there is no reason to think things will be better this time around. Opponents of the detention center have made their voices heard, including by protesting outside the facility earlier this month.
Calls to Action
Here are some ways to make your voices heard about the mistreatment of Americans at the hands of ICE:
Attend weekly protests of Avelo Airlines at GRR (Mondays from 10 - 11:30; Patterson at 44th St at the entrance to the Grand Rapids Airport. Parking across the street at Wendy’s; organized by the Coalition to Stop AVELO)
Attend protests at NLPC (watch the IGGR newsletter, Facebook page, and Bluesky for info)
Call and/or Write your congressional representatives
Also, follow GR Rapid Response to ICE on fb and attend a class where you can learn how to protect people from ICE violence, as well as learning how to use mutual aid to support families in the aftermath of ICE violence.
It's a lot to take! Those that can help, must! Cruelty and dehumanizing is the point! Stand up for our immigrant population! Thank you Indivisible GRR! ✌️🤗💙