Although they are reluctant to predict the future, current and former officials worry that the force assembled from federal agents across the country could eventually be turned against any groups the administration labels a threat.
One former senior DHS official who was involved in oversight said that what is happening on American streets today
“gives me goosebumps.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, the official rattled off scenes that once would’ve triggered investigations:
“Accosting people outside of their immigration court hearings where they’re showing up and trying to do the right thing
and then hauling them off to an immigration jail in the middle of the country where they can’t access loved ones or speak to counsel.
Bands of masked men apprehending people in broad daylight in the streets and hauling them off.
Disappearing people to a third country, to a prison where there’s a documented record of serious torture and human rights abuse.”
The former official paused.
“We’re at an inflection point in history right now
and it’s frightening.”
Although ICE is conducting itself out in the open,
even inviting conservative social media influencers to accompany its agents on high-profile raids,
the agency operates in darkness.
The identities of DHS officers,
their salaries and their operations
have long been withheld for security reasons
and generally exempted from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
However, there were offices within DHS created to hold agents and their supervisors accountable for their actions on the job.
The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. #CRCL, created by Congress and led largely by lawyers,
investigated allegations of rape and unlawful searches from both the public and within DHS ranks, for instance.
Egregious conduct was referred to the Justice Department.
The CRCL office had limited powers;
former staffers say their job was to protect DHS by ensuring personnel followed the law and addressed civil rights concerns.
Still, it was effective in stalling rushed deportations or ensuring detainees had access to phones and lawyers.
And even when its investigations didn’t fix problems, CRCL provided an accounting of allegations
and a measure of transparency for Congress and the public.
The office processed thousands of complaints
— 3,000 in fiscal year 2023 alone
— ranging from allegations of lack of access to medical treatment to reports of sexual assault at detention centers.
Former staffers said around 600 complaints were open when work was suspended.
The administration has gutted most of the office.
What’s left of it was led, at least for a while, by a 29-year-old White House appointee who helped craft Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint that broadly calls for the curtailment of civil rights enforcement.
Meanwhile, ICE is enjoying a windfall in resources.
On top of its annual operating budget of $10 billion a year,
the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill included an added
$7.5 billion a year for the next four years for recruiting and retention alone.
As part of its hiring blitz, the agency has dropped age, training and education standards and has offered recruits signing bonuses as high as $50,000.
“Supercharging this law enforcement agency and at the same time you have oversight being eliminated?”
said the former DHS official.
“This is very scary.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-ice-secret-police-civil-rights-unaccountable