







Latinos make up at least 50% of all Customs and Border Patrol agents and 20% of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — which has a lot of critics asking, why? We talk to Geraldo Cadava, professor of Latino Studies at Northwestern and contributor to the Atlantic, to break down some of the reasons Latinos join ICE, and he tells us, there are many people who believe in the mission of immigration enforcement.
Why do Latinos join ICE? | Code Switch
New Study Explores Why US Latinos Join ICE and Border Patrol - Latino Rebels
A new study found that most of the agents joined because they wanted a stable job, and didn’t see many other ways of getting one.

Why Latinos Join ICE
One reason: They’re aiming to protect, not betray, their communities.
When Pedro Arrests Juan: Why Latinos Join Border Patrol and ICE ~ L.A. TACO
Many Latino families inherited the same lesson generation after generation: When society views you as foreign, proving your Americanness can become its own form of survival.

Latinxs in <i>La Migra</i> : Why They Join and Why It Matters
Once an exclusively white enterprise, the last forty-five years have witnessed the emergence of a disproportionately Latinx immigration law enforcement workforce. This article addresses the question of why Latinxs elect to work for agencies that have systematically targeted the ethnic communities to which they belong. Where existing scholarship has often implied Latinxs may self-select into immigration law enforcement due to a lack of identification with the immigrant-experience, a dissociation with ethnic identity, and generally restrictionist immigration attitudes, this article finds little empirical evidence to support such an assumption. Analysis of interviews with sixty-one Latinx Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across Arizona, California, and Texas reveals, instead, Latinxs elect to work in immigration law enforcement in service of economic self-interest and survival, with “money,” “a good job,” and “benefits” cited as the primary motivation(s) behind applying for and accepting a job in immigration. This pattern holds irrespective of individual agents’ levels of identification with the immigrant-experience and particular attitudes toward immigration, and suggests a diversity in the demographics of immigration law enforcement agencies that extends beyond mere race and ethnicity, to include a diversity of perspective and potential for empathy.

Latinxs in <i>La Migra</i> : Why They Join and Why It Matters
Once an exclusively white enterprise, the last forty-five years have witnessed the emergence of a disproportionately Latinx immigration law enforcement workforce. This article addresses the question of why Latinxs elect to work for agencies that have systematically targeted the ethnic communities to which they belong. Where existing scholarship has often implied Latinxs may self-select into immigration law enforcement due to a lack of identification with the immigrant-experience, a dissociation with ethnic identity, and generally restrictionist immigration attitudes, this article finds little empirical evidence to support such an assumption. Analysis of interviews with sixty-one Latinx Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across Arizona, California, and Texas reveals, instead, Latinxs elect to work in immigration law enforcement in service of economic self-interest and survival, with “money,” “a good job,” and “benefits” cited as the primary motivation(s) behind applying for and accepting a job in immigration. This pattern holds irrespective of individual agents’ levels of identification with the immigrant-experience and particular attitudes toward immigration, and suggests a diversity in the demographics of immigration law enforcement agencies that extends beyond mere race and ethnicity, to include a diversity of perspective and potential for empathy.

I asked Latinos why they joined immigration law enforcement. Now I'm urging them to leave.
Latinos make up half of American Border Patrol agents. But it's not self-hatred driving them to work for agencies deporting their communities.

ICE Detention Trends | Vera Institute of Justice
Every year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) subjects hundreds of thousands of people to civil immigration detention—a practice that is unjust, inhumane, and completely unnecessary. It does so under a veil of secrecy, sharing only limited, often error-prone statistics with the public. ICE’s failure to regularly release accurate, complete, and accessible data to the public enables it to operate its multi-billion-dollar detention network with impunity and little oversight.

ICE went on a hiring spree. Sterling credentials were not required, AP investigation finds
Some new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers started working before passing background checks and had problems in their past.
They Walk Among Us - Criminal ICE and Border Agents — Ohio Immigrant Alliance
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance released “They Walk Among Us: A List of 59 Sexually and Physically Abusive ICE and Border Agents,” an analysis of sexual and violent crimes committed by ICE and Border Patrol agents. It report documents 59 cases of violent and/or sexual criminal acts by DHS employees.

Here’s Every Local Police Agency Enforcing for ICE – The Markup
Partnerships more than doubled during the first months of Trump's current term under a program known as 287(g)

Amid a big hiring push, police experts question ICE officer vetting
The recent fatal shootings by ICE officers in Texas and Maine come at a time when the federal agency has hired a huge number of officers quickly. Some law enforcement experts worry that this kind of a hiring spree can lead police agencies to cut corners in vetting new hires.

ICE violence against women is largely untracked. One advocacy group is working to change that.
Immigration agents with prior records of sexual and gender-based violence have drawn attention in Trump’s second term amid questions about training and vetting.

Know Your Rights | Enforcement at the Airport | ACLU
At the border, you are likely to encounter Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, and you may encounter Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. HSI is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Know your rights in these scenarios.

ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted
As immigration arrests hit record highs, ICE appears closer than ever to meeting its goal of 2,000 daily arrests.

Immigration in the US. See also ICE observer guides: semble.so/profile/aiueo.ooo/collections…

What to Do if You Are Arrested or Detained by Immigration

Know Your Rights: Five Things Parents Detained by ICE Should Know

How to Find a Loved One After a U.S. Immigration Arrest

What To Do If ICE Stops You In a Car, On a Bus, Or In a Train ~ L.A. TACO

What to Do If a Federal Immigration Agency Kills Your Loved One ~ L.A. TACO

What To Do If ICE Comes Knocking ~ L.A. TACO