“Mission: Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” The mission statement for Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE) is one of the first things a viewer stumbles upon on the Department of Homeland Security website.
In the last few months, ICE has been doing anything but fulfilling the mission, “to preserve national security and public safety.” Just in Minnesota alone, ICE agents have been responsible for the death of at least two U.S. citizens and the wrongful treatment of two others.
Renee Nicole Good was a 37 year old U.S. citizen who was killed by ICE agent Jonathon Ross. After dropping off her son at school, Good’s car could be seen stopped perpendicular to the street. The agent who would shoot her was videoed walking around the back of her car. Two officers then approached the driver-side door and continuously told Good to exit the vehicle. When attempting to drive away, Good was shot three times while inside of her car, killing her instantly and leading the car to spin out of control.
Ross claimed that it was an act of defense. Ross is a war veteran who joined the Department of Homeland Security as a deportation agent in 2015. Ross claimed he became a deportation agent because he wanted to arrest “higher value targets.” He is currently facing zero repercussions.
Failing to provide “public safety,” ICE agents were also responsible for murdering Alex Pretti. Pretti was a 37 year old ICU nurse in Minneapolis who was shot by two officers. He was tragically shot ten times, six of which were fired when he was already motionless on the ground. What was claimed to be a gun by his murderers was really his cellphone that he was holding when he was tackled to the ground by agents and endlessly pepper-sprayed.
You would think ICE views “preserve[ing] national security” as capturing criminals. Instead, they capture five year old children who have posed no threat to their fellow kindergarten classmates. Five year old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by immigration officers along with his father in Minnesota. The two had pending immigration court cases when they were suddenly taken to the Diley ICE Detention Center in Texas. Though they are now back home, ICE’s mistake put two humans in traumatizing conditions, ignoring the fact they were following the due process they value so dearly.
Fulfilled but never mentioned in their mission statement, ICE agents have also been responsible for raping detainees. David Courvelle is an agent working at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile. Courvelle now has a single count of sexual abuse of a ward of individual in federal custody; a count that can have up to 15 years in prison. He earned his sentencing court date on April 10 by having sexual encounters in janitorial closets with a Nicaraguan detainee, though he was released from custody on a $10,000 bond. Courvelle designated other agents as “lookouts” so the two would not be interrupted. In return, he would deliver her food, jewelry and pictures of her daughter; something strictly against protocol. Courvelle is facing consequences for his actions, but how many Courvelle’s have slid by without consequences?
These cases are only the tip of the iceberg. Since 2025, there have been at least 31 ICE shootings resulting in eight deaths. Under ICE custody, 32 have died– breaking the record for deaths in custody in 22 years. Almost 75% of those in custody have no criminal record. Countless others have been wrongfully detained and deported.
Why is the mission failing? Because ICE does not know who they are hiring.
When Trump first took office, the department had 10,000 employees. In August, a boost in new hires led to 22,000 active agents. Who did they hire to increase this number at such a rapid rate? Anyone. Take Laura Jedeed as an example. Jedeed is a journalist; and openly against the Trump administration and ICE. As part of an experiment, Jedeed went to an ICE recruiting event in Texas. Handing in a resume that mentioned her enlistment in the army out of high school and her deployment to Afghanistan under the 82nd airborne division, Jedeed started the application process. After a six minute interview, Jedeed was promised a $50,000 signing bonus, retirement account and a license. She was asked if she had any experience in law enforcement or the military and her location preference. She was then told that the beginning of her employment would mostly consist of paperwork before being active, to which she said was fine with her. According to her account, the interviewer’s attitude immediately switched and they said, “Just to be upfront, the goal is to put as many guns and badges out in the field as possible.” When people watching, Jedeed saw no more than 150 people; mostly white and Hispanic applicants. An active ICE agent was there to answer questions.
In the following days, Jedeed did not fill out any forms about employment, but still received an email that thanked her for confirming. She then went to complete a drug test that should have failed because she had had cannabis six days before. In her article on Slate, Jedeed said, “Somehow, despite never submitting any of the paperwork they sent me– not the background check or identification info, not the domestic violence affidavit, none of it– ICE had apparently offered me a job.” Logging into her portal she found that her physical and mental test had been initiated and completed respectively three days in the future; her background check had been approved on the same day.
Jedeed’s story is a prime example of the carelessness of ICE. Not only is ICE being careless with who they hire, the standards and requirements for a new hire have drastically declined. What used to be four to six months of high-intensity training has turned into 47 days in homage to Trump being the 47th president. Previously, training required a course of Spanish language that lasted five weeks. Now, the requirement has been completely erased, and agents are suggested to use technology as a form of translation and communication. Before, emphasis was placed on a deep and well rounded understanding of the cultural and legal logistics of these procedures. This focus has been put on the back burner to prioritize tactical skills to use on the job.
The serious lack of standards and required understanding, along with the mistakes in hiring show how irresponsibly a federal department is running. But where is the apology for this clumsiness that is having drastic impacts?
ICE and their allies refuse to acknowledge their faults. In the case of Good, her tragic death was not remembered with respect. Rather than showing sorrow and being mournful for the wrongful killing of an American citizen, the Trump administration called her a “domestic terrorist.” The administration painted her to be an agitator and a murderer. Other figures in his administration including Vice President JD Vance claimed that Ross was “protected by absolute immunity,” because it can be classified as federal law enforcement action. She was accused of trying to run over the officers, yet no witness at the scene could corroborate that claim.
For Pretti, Krist Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, blamed Pretti over claims that he brandished a gun on the two officers. However, a report by the Department of Homeland Security did not report this fact, nor was there evidence of this. He was also blamed because he had a license for a gun; legal under his second amendment as a U.S. citizen and generally supported by the Republican party and the Trump administration. Noem also said that Pretti had “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”