ICE, although a government department, is not helping American citizens.
What makes ICE so controversial? It can be attributed to three main components: their tactics, their human rights violations, and the inhumane living conditions in detention centers.
The most controversial tactic ICE uses to arrest immigrants is deception. An example is the case of Alyssa Lazo, who woke up at 8 a.m. one morning to three people at her door.
“They said they were the police, and they were looking for me.” In reality, these “police officers” were actually ICE agents, and they came to put her in federal custody.
Lazo is a DACA recipient, which means that, temporarily, she should not be deportable. However, ICE disregarded that and took her to a detention center. She was held there for 21 days.
“Ever since that day, I’ve been afraid of talking to the police for anything.” Being deceived would certainly bring doubt towards not just ICE, but also the police and other agencies, which is what happened to Lazo.
According to the ACLU, an organization that defends human rights in America, there are also other tactics that ICE uses to trick people like Lazo.
ICE’s last two intertwined controversies are human rights violations and subhuman living conditions. One instance where human rights are being violated is in the detention centers, where medical attention is lacking.
“It also stated that a pregnant detainee who spoke with [Georgia Senator Jon] Ossoff’s staff described repeatedly requesting medical attention and being told to ‘just drink water’ instead of getting a checkup.“
Another story told by a woman described what it was like in the detention centers, including allegations of overcrowding, people forced to sleep on the floor, inadequate access to nutrition and medical care, as well as abusive treatment by the guards, lack of information about their case, and limited ability to contact their loved ones and legal support.