Join Immigration, Customs & Enforcement and Be a Defender of God

Join Immigration, Customs & Enforcement and Be a Defender of God

"To me, there's something there that we really have to notice… That's not just an ad that says, hey, if you join up with DHS, if you become an ICE agent, that's a good career path for you, maybe this is a new start. That's not an ad that says, join up in a patriotic endeavor, something that you might think of as a great American program that started by, you know, Donald Trump. This is an ad that says, if you join up with us, DHS and ICE, you are answering a call from God. You're entering a holy war. You are answering the call to play a part in a story that is transcendent." Brad Onishi, a scholar of religion with the University of San Francisco

ICE agents are trained less, paid less and have fewer screening variables to overcome. The Department of Homeland Security is taking advantage of those realities. What seems to be attracting the mass of people that Trump wants to recruit into ICE is a cry not to traditional police values; it is a cry to potential recruits to be soldiers of God in a less-than-subtle cry to staff Trump’s personal army driven by white Christian nationalism. That medieval “crusader” knight above is the paragon of a perfect ICE agent. And what is done in the name of God justifies any relevant violence, putting their interpretation of the Bible as the highest authority, above the Constitution, protecting a Christian America from a hostile takeover by godless hordes.

Listening to White House Senior Advisor, Stephen Miller (the principal architect of Trump’s immigration policy), our DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration Tsar, Tom Homan, you know they view the Constitution as an anachronistic barrier to purging America of darker-skinned undocumented aliens, focusing on deportation quotas and pretty much disregarding the pledge to focused on dangerous criminal first. That undocumented aliens are less likely to commit violent crimes than native born Americans is lost in translation.

What Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill did for ICE was a budgetary windfall that makes this targeting “police force” better financed that the vast majority of military forces in nations all over the world. And unless the Jeffrey Epstein scandal upends Trump completely, ICE would become Trump’s personal army, just as the Department of Justice has become his personal law firm, in the pursuit of his opponents. “The bill delivered ICE a huge windfall ($75 billion through 2029 [an overall budget over time of $175 billion]) that should make it by far the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in the US government. PolitiFact calculated that ICE could be funded at an average annual rate of $27.7 billion, compared to the FBI’s $10 billion budget.

“This has led to plenty of concern among Trump’s critics about what that expansion will entail. He’s already signaled he’s willing to go to very controversial places in using law enforcement for his federal immigration crackdown and the military to back up his deportation efforts. He’ll also have more control over ICE than he would with the FBI, given post-Watergate reforms that made the FBI and the broader Justice Department more independent of the president. ICE has fewer such guardrails surrounding it.

“And even setting aside further potential politicization of federal law enforcement, there are the problems that can emerge when trying to quickly hire thousands of people for difficult jobs. A rapid 2000s-era expansion of the US Border Patrol led to standards being relaxed and a spike in misconduct.” Aaron Blake, writing for CNN, July 23rd. The recruitment effort for the thousands of ICE agents Trump wants to hire is resulting in some self-selection that should trouble the majority of Americans who now view ICE raids and detention as too extreme and fundamentally cruel.

“[ICE’s] masked militia has traumatized peaceful communities, with particular terror aimed at the Latino population, by presenting no badges or identification, and by physically accosting and kidnapping both undocumented and legal U.S. residents without due process… ICE’s evolving public-facing mission, which is increasingly spreading fear in American society, coupled with the expected increase in agents needed to carry out the Trump administration’s agenda, raises the question: What kind of person will seek to join ICE?

“Before the first Trump administration, ICE agents were typically motivated by integrity, courage, resilience, and a strong sense of duty and allegiance to the Constitution. Idealism and a sense of purpose were essential to balancing the gravity of their mission, and humility tempered the power dynamic inherent in law enforcement work. Agents require complex skills and knowledge, including cultural awareness and respect for civil liberties, as well as the necessary skills and training to maintain civility and safety during their missions…

“Today’s missions and subsequent behavior of many ICE agents are a far cry from those of the past. Trump has spent the last decade maligning immigrants in the United States, often with fabricated stories to create fear within communities and foster xenophobic hatred among his supporters. This paved the way for harsh, and sometimes sadistic, policies involving aggressive raids, warrantless detentions, family separations and imprisonment under conditions condemned by human rights groups.

“The pressure from the Trump administration to meet detention quotas and to enter peaceful communities in full tactical gear has been well-described. Bystanders have recorded videos of unidentifiable, masked agents in unmarked vehicles whisking people away without confirming the identities of their targets or informing the prisoners’ families of where they will be detained. These videos have entered the national conversation, leading to increased public scrutiny of ICE but altering the perception of this organization’s culture.

“The attention given to ICE raids, along with the empowerment bestowed upon the agency, may influence and alter the type of candidate for our next generation of agents. Instead of the ideals listed above, people eager to assume authoritative roles and participate in policies that emphasize dominance and public brutality may be attracted to the agency. Today’s ICE recruits may not be driven by a sense of noble duty or ethics but by the opportunity to exert power over vulnerable people, deriving satisfaction from the suffering they cause.” Dr. Geoffrey Grammer, a decorated U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) and psychiatrist who treated active military personnel both at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, writing for the July 18th Salon.com.

In short, the current ICE recruitment effort is being focused on the kinds of bullies Trump and Miller believe they need to cleanse the United States of these undocumented “undesirables,” in the most expedient manner possible. What a perfect paramilitary organization for egotistical messianic mega-bully who so relishes “obliterating” anyone who disagrees with him!

In the words written by Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (for the 1986 motion picture, “The Fly”), “BE afraid. Be very afraid,” of Trump’s master plan for the United States.