"ICE Is OK with Renee Good's Killing": Journalist Ken Klippenstein on ICE Tactics & Recruitment
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Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖ICE is spending $100 million on a 'wartime recruitment strategy' to hire thousands of new deportation officers.
- ❖Recruitment targets include gun-rights supporters, military enthusiasts, and attendees of far-right events, using geo-fencing near military bases, NASCAR races, and gun shows.
- ❖Some ICE recruitment ads contain white nationalist slogans, like 'We'll have our home again,' featuring music popular with white nationalists.
- ❖Internal ICE documents show agents are 'terrified of ICE backlash' after the Renee Good shooting, with senior agents hesitant to volunteer for operations in Minneapolis.
- ❖ICE's budget for law enforcement has tripled, leading to a need to fill roles that match the increased resources.
- ❖ICE's use-of-force policies have not changed since the Trump administration, despite a militarized and expanded mission, and do not address civil unrest or protests.
- ❖National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM7) redefines political dissent, including anti-Christian, anti-American, anti-traditional family, anti-capitalist, and anti-ICE sentiment, as domestic terrorism.
- ❖The Justice Department cited NSPM7, expressing concern over 'impeding or interfering with ICE operations,' which was the accusation against Renee Good.
- ❖ICE's policies effectively allow agents to use deadly force based on their 'perceived sense of being in danger,' exacerbated by propaganda framing operations as 'war zones'.
Insights
1ICE's Aggressive, Ideologically-Targeted Recruitment Strategy
ICE is implementing a $100 million 'wartime recruitment strategy' to hire thousands of new deportation officers. This strategy specifically targets individuals interested in guns, tactical gear, military enthusiasm, and those who attend UFC fights or listen to far-right podcasts, utilizing geo-fencing technology to send ads near military bases, NASCAR races, and gun shows. Some ads have openly quoted white nationalist slogans and featured music popular among such groups, indicating a deliberate ideological alignment in recruitment.
The Washington Post reported ICE's $100 million 'wartime recruitment strategy' targeting gun-right supporters, military enthusiasts, and people attending UFC fights or listening to far-right podcasts (). Ads used geo-fencing near military bases, NASCAR races, college campuses, or gun shows (). An Instagram ad after Renee Good's killing claimed 'We'll have our home again' with a song popular among white nationalists ().
2Internal Dissent and Public Opinion Shift within DHS/ICE
Despite public bravado from Homeland Security officials, internal sentiment within DHS and ICE reveals significant concern and splits regarding the agency's mission and incidents like the Renee Good shooting. Experienced agents are hesitant to volunteer for operations in areas like Minneapolis, leading to new, less experienced recruits being deployed. This internal opposition reflects a broader 'sea change' in public opinion, where ICE and deportations have become deeply unpopular, influencing even agency personnel.
Klippenstein's report, 'Immigration agents terrified of ICE backlash after shooting,' includes leaked documents showing ICE seeking volunteers for Minneapolis operations, with an agent noting, 'If no experienced senior agents step up, they send the new guys straight out of the academy. Not a good idea' (). He states that privately, DHS employees are 'very conscious of the protests' and 'concerned about it,' with 'splits within the agency about the shooting itself and the general mission' (). Public opinion on ICE and deportations has 'completely flipped' and is 'deeply unpopular' ().
3Unchanged Use-of-Force Policies Amidst Militarized Expansion
ICE's use-of-force policies have remained unchanged since the Trump administration, despite a tripled enforcement budget and a dramatically expanded, militarized mission. These 'bureaucratically dense and elastic' documents offer broad excuses for killings but fail to address new operational realities such as protests, civil unrest, or rioters. This policy vacuum, combined with propaganda framing operations as 'war zones,' creates a psychological environment where agents genuinely believe they are in danger, making deadly force more likely.
Klippenstein states ICE's use-of-force policies have not changed since Trump took office, despite the budget being tripled and the entire operation militarized (). The documents do not address 'protesters, civil unrest, even rioters' (). He notes the policies allow agents to act based on their 'own perceived sense of being in danger,' which is amplified by propaganda recruiting agents to 'war zones' ().
4NSPM7: Redefining Dissent as Domestic Terrorism
National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM7) is a sweeping directive that redefines political dissent as a form of domestic terrorism. It lists 'indicators' of terrorism, including 'anti-Christian sentiment, anti-American sentiment, anti-traditional family sentiment, anti-capitalist sentiment,' and specifically 'anti-ICE protesters and sentiment.' This memorandum, followed by a Justice Department memo concerned with 'impeding or interfering with ICE operations,' creates a direct link between political opposition and the justification for aggressive federal actions, such as those leading to Renee Good's death.
NSPM7 'redefine[s] terrorism around a number of what are called indicators' (), including 'anti-Christian sentiment, anti-American sentiment, anti-traditional family sentiment, anti-capitalist uh sentiment,' and 'anti-ICE protesters and sentiment' (). The Justice Department's follow-on memo cited NSPM7 and was concerned with 'impeding or interfering with ICE operations,' which was the accusation against Renee Good ().
Lessons
- Scrutinize government recruitment strategies for federal agencies, especially those involved in law enforcement, to identify potential ideological targeting or militarization.
- Demand transparency and reform for federal agency use-of-force policies, ensuring they are updated to reflect current operational environments, including civil unrest and protests.
- Investigate the implications of executive directives like NSPM7 that redefine political dissent as domestic terrorism, and assess their impact on civil liberties and freedom of speech.
Quotes
"If no experienced senior agents step up, they send the new guys straight out of the academy. Not a good idea."
"We cannot and we should not continue to fund agencies that operate with impunity that escalate violence and that undermine the very freedoms this country claims to uphold."
"The United States Congress should not fund a Department of Homeland Security that is not obeying the laws of the United States of America."
"They don't see it as rhetoric. They think that that's actually describing the conditions on the ground, a war zone... That that is overwhelmingly believed by the younger cohort that's joining ICE now."
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