IMMIGRATION CONTROL OR TERROR CAMPAIGN? ICE IS OUT OF CONTROL
When the cure becomes deadlier than the disease, it's time to ask: Are we fighting crime or creating criminals with badges?
There's a peculiar irony in watching a government agency tasked with enforcing immigration law operate like they're storming the beaches of Normandy every time they knock on a door in Minneapolis. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—ICE—has transformed from a law enforcement agency into something that looks disturbingly like an occupying force in American cities. And now, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the helm, the question isn't just "Is this effective?" but "Is this even America anymore?"
The Militarization of Immigration Enforcement: Overkill or Just Kill?
Let's talk about the elephant in the room—or rather, the paramilitary force in tactical gear storming through our neighborhoods. Why do ICE agents need long guns, military-style uniforms, and face masks to arrest people suspected of immigration violations? Your local police department manages to arrest actual violent criminals without looking like they're extras in a Call of Duty game.
The contrast is stark and telling. Police officers across the country perform law enforcement duties daily—handling everything from domestic disputes to armed robberies—without terrorizing entire communities in the process. They wear identifiable uniforms. They follow protocols. They're (theoretically) accountable to the communities they serve.
ICE? They roll up like Navy SEALs on a mission, faces obscured, heavily armed, creating an atmosphere of terror that extends far beyond their actual targets. This isn't law enforcement—it's psychological warfare.
Constitutional Rights: Suggestions or Commandments?
Here's a refresher course for those who skipped civics class: The Constitution grants Americans certain inalienable rights. Free speech. Free assembly. Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. These aren't suggestions. They're not subject to suspension because someone in Washington decides immigration is a "crisis."
Yet we're watching these rights trampled in real-time. Peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights are being met with violence. Communities are being subjected to warrantless searches. The tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good—a 37-year-old American citizen—by an ICE agent during a Minneapolis protest should have been a wake-up call. As well as the murder of Alex Pretti. Instead, the federal government defended the shooting with claims contradicted by video evidence.
When American citizens can be killed by federal agents for exercising their constitutional rights, and the government's response is to lie about it, we've crossed a line from law enforcement into state-sanctioned violence.
Kristi Noem: The Wrong Person at the Wrong Time
Secretary Noem's tenure has coincided with an unprecedented expansion of ICE operations—and an unprecedented body count. Under her watch, 2025 became the deadliest year for people in ICE custody in over two decades. At least nine people were shot by immigration officers in just five months.
The agency has ballooned in size, with reduced training standards and questionable hiring practices. When you prioritize quantity over quality, speed over competence, and aggression over de-escalation, you don't get better law enforcement—you get domestic terrorism with a badge.
Impeachment isn't just warranted; it's necessary. When a cabinet official oversees an agency that operates with impunity, violates constitutional rights, and leaves American citizens dead in the streets, accountability must follow. If not impeachment, then what? A strongly worded letter?
The False Choice: Safety vs. Humanity
Here's what the defenders of ICE's tactics want you to believe: that this level of force, this degree of terror, this militarization is necessary to keep Americans safe from "criminal immigrants."
It's a false choice, and a cynical one.
Yes, there are immigrants who commit crimes. There are also native-born Americans who commit crimes—at higher rates, statistically. But we don't send paramilitary forces to terrorize entire neighborhoods of native-born Americans because some of them might be criminals. We use targeted, proportional law enforcement.
The current ICE approach is the equivalent of burning down the house to kill a spider. Sure, you got the spider, but now everyone's homeless and traumatized, and several innocent people died in the fire.
This Is Not the America We Want
America has always been a work in progress, a nation striving (however imperfectly) toward its stated ideals of liberty and justice for all. But the America where masked federal agents can kill citizens with impunity, where constitutional rights are treated as obstacles rather than foundations, where entire communities live in fear of their own government—that's not progress. That's regression into authoritarianism.
This isn't about being "soft on crime" or "open borders." It's about recognizing that the methods we use matter as much as the goals we pursue. A democracy that abandons its principles in the name of security doesn't become safer—it just stops being a democracy.
What We Can Do: From Outrage to Action
Anger without action is just noise. Here's how to turn your outrage into change:
1. Call Your Representatives
Your senators and representatives need to hear from you—loudly and repeatedly. Demand they:
- Defund ICE's expanded operations
- Impose strict accountability measures and remove absolute immunity protections
- Investigate deaths and violence by immigration officers
- Restore constitutional protections for all people on American soil
2. Organize and Mobilize
The No Kings Coalition has shown that mass mobilization works. Over 7 million people participated in their October 2025 protests. Their next major action—No Kings 3.0 on March 28, 2026—aims to be the largest protest in American history.
Find your local event at nokings.org and show up. Bring friends. Bring family. Bring anyone who believes that America belongs to its people, not to kings—or to unaccountable federal agencies.
3. Document and Expose
Safely and legally document ICE activities in your community. The truth is our most powerful weapon against propaganda. Video evidence contradicted the government's lies about Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good's killing—imagine what other truths are waiting to be revealed.
4. Vote Like Your Rights Depend On It
Because they do. Every election—from local school boards to the presidency—matters. Register. Vote. Help others register and vote. Make sure everyone understands what's at stake.
5. Support Affected Communities
Immigrant communities are bearing the brunt of this terror campaign. Show solidarity. Support local organizations providing legal aid, documentation, and resources. Attend "Know Your Rights" trainings. Build bridges, not walls.
6. Pressure Corporations
Companies like Target, Delta, Hilton, Enterprise, and Home Depot have business relationships that support ICE operations. Let them know that consumers are watching and that supporting state violence is bad for business.
March 28: A Line in the Sand
The No Kings 3.0 mobilization on March 28, 2026, represents more than just another protest. It's a statement that Americans—millions of us—refuse to accept authoritarianism as the new normal. The flagship event in the Twin Cities, where Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti was killed, carries special significance.
This is our moment to demonstrate that the power belongs to the people, not to unaccountable agencies operating above the law. Not to officials who prioritize cruelty over competence. Not to a system that treats constitutional rights as inconvenient suggestions.
The Bottom Line
Immigration enforcement doesn't require terror. It doesn't require militarization. It doesn't require abandoning the Constitution or killing American citizens in the streets.
What it requires is what all law enforcement requires: competence, accountability, proportionality, and respect for human rights. ICE, under its current structure and leadership, has demonstrated none of these qualities.
The choice before us is clear: Do we accept this new normal of domestic terror in the name of immigration control? Or do we demand better—demand an America that lives up to its ideals, where law enforcement serves communities rather than terrorizing them?
The answer should be obvious. Now comes the hard part: making it happen.
No kings. No tyrants. No terror. Just justice.
The No Kings Coalition's next major mobilization is March 28, 2026. Find events near you and learn how to safely participate at nokings.org. Remember: nonviolent action, de-escalation, and constitutional rights are our principles and our power.
#NoKingsProtest #NoKingsMar28 #NoKingsInAmerica #NoKings
No Kings https://www.nokings.org/
Resource Guide & Community Response For No Kings Day — No Kings https://www.nokings.org/kyr
