Above: “Protester against ICE in Minneapolis – ICE are Murderers” by Fibonacci Blue is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?ref=openverse.
SAU Media major and Buzz writer, Grant Ward, writes a special spring semester series on the operations of and student reactions to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, is under intense pressure to change their tactics across the country due to its recent operations in Minneapolis and the killing of nurse Alex Pretti and mother Renee Good.
ICE was established in 2003 under the Department of Homeland Security. According to ICE.gov, “ICE’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
“ICE now has more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world.”
ICE Gaining Publicity
The new Trump Administration is widely publicizing ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts. PBS reports that the administration orginally “…prepared to deploy as many as 2,000 federal agents and officers to the Minneapolis area for a sweeping crackdown…”
But their presence and ensuing protests after Pretti and Good’s shootings have resulted in many demanding ICE withdraw altogether or unmask, wear body cams and have signed judicial warrants before breaking down front doors.
Congress is currently debating with ICE leaders over funding issues and many lawmakers are threatening to withhold ICE funds unless changes are made.
At SAU, students and faculty are expressing their concerns over these recent events.
SAU Freshman Gavin Stichter disagrees with these crackdowns. Stichter says, “…immigrants are the building blocks to America today.
“I believe that America is the land of opportunity and that everyone is welcome to our country, no matter their nationality…
“I hate seeing our country so divided. I hate seeing people and children being harmed and deported from our country because either they’re not born Americans or their family members aren’t born Americans…
“I don’t think they deserve to be forced out of the country just because the government said so.”
Protests and Alex Pretti’s Death
While protesting on January 24th, ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti. ABC News wrote, “Pretti was pinned on the street by multiple federal agents – visible being hit by one of them – when one of the officers can be seen leaving the struggle with what appears to be a gun.
“In total, 10 shots were fired in less than five seconds…Pretti was declared dead on the scene.”
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem responded to Pretti’s death in a press conference recorded by USA Today. Noem stated, “This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them…
“…this individual came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked them, and these agents took action to defend their lives and to defend the lives of the people around them…
“…we will continue to let this process go forward and not allow people like Governor Walz and Mayor Frey to lie about what actually unfolded on that street.”
Communications Professor Jim Baumann is troubled by ICE’s actions, mentioning how “You feel for the people who are affected, and you feel for the victims…
“There are ways to deal with a situation that don’t cost somebody their life…there are less lethal options.
“A police officer’s goal is to try to de-escalate, and regardless of what Kristi Norm says, he didn’t deserve to lose his life.”
SAU Students on ICE
SAU Freshman Killian McManus mentioned the difficulty of seeing Noem’s claimed attack by Pretti on ICE. McManus said, “…when you look at it through all these different angles, it’s difficult to see the attack that he was apparently committing back towards them…
“…He’s getting pinned down by multiple people, but they took that as a sign of attack and shot him multiple times…
“Even if someone is doing something wrong, people are going to struggle when they have multiple people on top of them.”
SAU Senior Sophia Holthaus encourages people to look at the larger picture. She states, “The Trump Administration has blown ICE’s role in society out of proportion, and I also think that the opinions of the administration after Pretti’s death are just straight libel.
“It’s important as college students to get our information from actual, credible sources before spreading fake information…
“No federal agency should gun down a man who did nothing wrong.”
SAU Senior Peyton Willaert reaffirms Holthaus’ beliefs. She also thinks “… specifically with Alex Pretti, we’re seeing people pay more attention, but I wish people were paying attention before his death.
“There have been others before him, such as Renée Nicole Good…immigrants have also disappeared and been sent to detention camps, which is important to focus on as well.
“The side of the government that’s using Pretti carrying a gun as an excuse to kill him is the same side of the government that’s usually more pro-Second Amendment…no matter how you feel about it, he was allowed to conceal carry, and he wasn’t using his gun.”
While many are concerned with ICE’s tactics, ICE leaders appearing before Congress this past week have testified in a House of Representatives Committee that the patrols are protecting the American people from illegal immigrants and are themselves at risk due to outraged protesters.
