– There are very dramatic scenes we are seeing now, with a completely different aggressiveness on the part of the federal authorities, says law professor Geir Stenseth at the University of Oslo to Dagbladet.
The protests against the immigration authorities have increased after the murders of American Renee Nicole Good (37) and Alex Jeffrey Pretti (37) in Minneapolis. The former was shot by an ICE agent earlier in January and the latter by a border guard at the weekend.
Since the Trump administration took office, the United States’ efforts against illegal immigrants have been greatly strengthened, and the responsible agencies have become increasingly brutal.
– As the Nazis used the Gestapo
Who enforces US immigration laws?
The enforcement of US immigration laws is a federal responsibility, while the states are responsible for general policing. The immigration police ICE has traditionally operated inside the USA, while the border authority CBP is responsible for the USA’s borders and ports of entry.
– For a long time there has been a rift between federal forces that want strict enforcement, and states that are «sanctuary»where they want milder treatment of the immigrants. The problem now is the very heavy-handed behaviour, says Stenseth.
Donald Trump promised tough enforcement in the election campaign and has set a goal of carrying out one million deportations annually.
In the past year, ICE’s budget has increased from $10 billion to $75 billion annually. Since then, they have mass-recruited and sent agents in droves into the streets of several states.
– What is happening is unprecedented, former ICE chief John Sandweg told Politico in October.
He described how the focus has shifted from finding people without legal residence who commit crimes, to apprehending people who do not have legal residence in general.
USA: The murder of Alex Pretti has added fuel to the fire in Minneapolis after widespread demonstrations against ICE, a US authority that enforces immigration laws and can arrest and deport people without legal residence. Reporter: Edward Stenlund. Video: AP / Freedom TV / Frontlines / Social Media.
The distinction between ICE and CBP has also become more blurred. The Trump administration has deployed border guards as reinforcements in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, while boasting of fewer apprehensions along the border with Mexico.
– I consider the decrease in apprehensions at the border to be the result of fewer border crossings, a trend that started under the previous administration, while more ICE apprehensions in the US are evidence of increased activity in the US, says university lecturer David Hausman at the UC Berkeley School of Law to Vox.
What are the agents allowed to do?
The Trump administration, led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has moved quickly to support its federal agents after the Minneapolis killings, claiming they acted in self-defense.
– It’s completely new. Normally it is said that such incidents must be investigated. I think there are limits that are being tested, says law professor Stenseth.
ICE agents can interrogate, search and arrest people they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect of being in the country illegally, without a court order.
– The use of violence must be proportionate, so the question is whether one goes too far here in relation to what is legal, especially when the central authorities give instructions. It looks like it has become a culture to increase the use of force, also in cases where de-escalation should rather have taken place, to avert dangerous situations, says Stenseth.
Many believe that borders have been crossed long ago.
– We’ve seen this one proto-militsen that Trump is building, will be operating illegally on our streets for many months, New Jersey’s new Democratic governor Mikie Sherrill said in a television interview last Thursday.
– As a former soldier, I would call them an undisciplined militia, and the leadership is terrible. We have seen agents dressed as soldiers, advancing as if they were on the battlefield and treating civilians as if they were enemy forces, says retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling to MS Now.
In an internal memo leaked to the Associated Press last week, it appears that ICE agents are now given the authority to enter people’s homes without a warrant – something they did not previously have – and which the US Constitution is supposed to protect citizens from.
– It is a challenge to the fourth constitutional amendment, says Stenseth.
He explains how the Trump administration is now challenging established American law. Many cases are on their way up the legal system, towards a Supreme Court with several judges on the conservative side.
– These tend to look at the room for interpretation in the constitution and vaguely worded laws, and have placed less emphasis on case law that has interpreted the constitution since the Second World War.
– A bunch of thugs
How are the agents recruited?
Job seekers have been lured with high bonuses, student loan forgiveness and other perks to meet the Trump administration’s goal of doubling the number of new ICE deportation agents.
Just after the turn of the year, the Ministry of Homeland Security announced that the number of agents had increased from 10,000 to 22,000. They have also cut the training time for the agents from five months to 42 days.
On the recruitment page, it appears that agents must have “excellent physical fitness” and “strong abilities in critical thinking”, but there are no explicit requirements for formal education or previous work experience.
One person was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24th. Video: X
To The Atlantic, several unnamed “ICE veterans” express concern about their new colleagues’ qualifications and suitability for the job.
– These are people who have nothing to do in our office, says a high-ranking ICE employee, who describes physically unfit new hires “who would be weeded out in a normal hiring process”.
Journalist Laura Jedeed has described in Slate how she received a job offer from ICE last autumn, allegedly without a proper process or background check being carried out on her. The department dismissed the account, claiming she was never offered a job, to which Jedeed responded with a video that appears to show a job offer on ICE’s employment portal.
– Should be an alarm clock
What can happen in the future?
After the latest murder in Minneapolis, protesters have taken to the streets in several American cities, and several Republican politicians have called for a thorough investigation of the immigration authorities’ behavior in Minnesota.
Donald Trump, who has blamed the murders on “Democrat chaos”, spoke on Monday with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey – conversations he described as “good”.
Earlier Monday, it was announced that the president is sending his so-called “border czar”, Tom Homan, to Minnesota to lead ICE’s mission and report directly to Trump.
On Tuesday night, several American media reported that border police chief Gregory Bovino and several of his people will leave the state. Security Minister Kristi Noem and her advisor Corey Lewandowski are reportedly also on a tight leash. They have all made harsh accusations against murder victim Alex Pretti.
According to The New York Times, the security minister and her adviser participated in a two-hour meeting with the president in the Oval Office on Monday night, where a “change in strategy” was discussed.
– It looks like the Trump administration believes it is approaching a limit for what will be tolerated – both generally, based on the opinion polls now, and among Republican congressmen, based on the fact that more than before are now critical, including in public, says Stenseth.
