# What is the job of ICE supposed to be (if not what it is doing?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 11, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949 "2018-12-11T16:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/21 "2018-12-13T20:28:36Z")
I don’t think anyone disagrees with deporting people who commit a crime in the United States. But if you’ve been living in the United States for twenty years and the only crime you’ve committed is entering the United States illegally or staying past your visa expiration then I don’t see the need for an entire police agency set up to catch and deport you. Why don’t we let the regular police handle it. They’ll catch people who commit crimes, either native born or aliens. And then we can separate out the illegal aliens after they get arrested and deport them. Or we can send them to prison and then deport them after they complete their sentence. The illegal aliens who don’t commit any crimes that bring them to the attention of the police are not a significant problem. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/22 "2018-12-13T20:31:09Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Do we really want to encourage people to bring kids on this dangerous journey? Did your ancestors bring children with them when they came to America? What was so special about them? ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/23 "2018-12-14T15:57:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Wait–I recognize that law enforcement agencies decide how to prioritize different enforcement actions, and that makes me naive? Seriously? > > It’s dangerous because we make it dangerous. We should make it less dangerous. This isn’t naive. > Really? How long do you think we lock children up in cages for? When first detained children are put in a warehouse with chain link fences that separate the various ages. This is what is usually meant by cages. They are transferred to HHS facilities as soon as possible. This is always done in less than three days. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/24 "2018-12-14T16:11:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think anyone disagrees with deporting people who commit a crime in the United States. But if you’ve been living in the United States for twenty years and the only crime you’ve committed is entering the United States illegally or staying past your visa expiration then I don’t see the need for an entire police agency set up to catch and deport you. > > Why don’t we let the regular police handle it. They’ll catch people who commit crimes, either native born or aliens. And then we can separate out the illegal aliens after they get arrested and deport them. Or we can send them to prison and then deport them after they complete their sentence. The illegal aliens who don’t commit any crimes that bring them to the attention of the police are not a significant problem. People do disagree, there were 300 jurisdictions that refused ICE detainers to hold prisoners for possible deportation. One [study](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/300-sanctuary-cities-blocked-deportation-of-17-000-illegal-criminals)found that 17,000 detainers were refused in a 19 month period. Of those 11,800 were for prisoners who had prior criminal history. California passed a law that local jails could not investigate immigration status. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/25 "2018-12-14T16:46:22Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > This is naive. ICE does not make immigration law, congress does. ICE’s job is to enforce the law. And yet there are many examples of ICE either breaking the law or attempting to get other law enforcement agencies to break the law, including many of those detainment requests. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/26 "2018-12-14T17:19:56Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > People do disagree, there were 300 jurisdictions that refused ICE detainers to hold prisoners for possible deportation. One [study](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/300-sanctuary-cities-blocked-deportation-of-17-000-illegal-criminals)found that 17,000 detainers were refused in a 19 month period. Of those 11,800 were for prisoners who had prior criminal history. California passed a law that local jails could not investigate immigration status. Any cites that don’t come from the Center For Immigration Studies? They aren’t exactly known for reliability l. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/27 "2018-12-14T18:07:14Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > When first detained children are put in a warehouse with chain link fences that separate the various ages. This is what is usually meant by cages. They are transferred to HHS facilities as soon as possible. This is always done in less than three days. So the wild exaggeration is that children are only put in literal cages for three days, and that the rest of their months-long and unnecessary separation from their parents is in detention that’s only figuratively speaking a cage? Okay, puddleglum. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/28 "2018-12-14T18:16:00Z")
Honestly, under Trump ICE’s job would appear to be to “secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/29 "2018-12-14T19:06:22Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > …ICE if NOT supposed to be in charge of border security, it is supposed to be investigating and dealing with criminal activity. Dangerous or national security type criminal activity. Not mothers crossing the border with little children… We have the SWAT team helping little old ladies to cross the street. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/30 "2018-12-14T19:12:46Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > People do disagree, there were 300 jurisdictions that refused ICE detainers to hold prisoners for possible deportation. One [study](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/300-sanctuary-cities-blocked-deportation-of-17-000-illegal-criminals)found that 17,000 detainers were refused in a 19 month period. Of those 11,800 were for prisoners who had prior criminal history. California passed a law that local jails could not investigate immigration status. Perhaps local law enforcement would be less reluctant to cooperate with ICE if they didn’t do things like [attempt to deport U.S. citizens,](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/22/504031635/you-say-you-re-an-american-but-what-if-you-had-to-prove-it-or-be-deported) including [people who can show their U.S. passports.](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-citizens-ice-20180427-htmlstory.html) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/31 "2018-12-18T22:39:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think anyone disagrees with deporting people who commit a crime in the United States. But if you’ve been living in the United States for twenty years and the only crime you’ve committed is entering the United States illegally or staying past your visa expiration then I don’t see the need for an entire police agency set up to catch and deport you. > > Why don’t we let the regular police handle it. They’ll catch people who commit crimes, either native born or aliens. And then we can separate out the illegal aliens after they get arrested and deport them. Or we can send them to prison and then deport them after they complete their sentence. The illegal aliens who don’t commit any crimes that bring them to the attention of the police are not a significant problem. That’s not the law. The law does not say that you can come here illegally and stay so long as you don’t commit felonies. I know that you and those on your side want that to be the law, but it is not. So when a person endangers a child by bringing him or her in tow and illegally crossing an international border, we don’t blame the parent, we blame Donald Trump. As was said in the other thread, if I drive drunk with my kid in the car, the kid doesn’t sit in the holding cell with me so as not to “separate” children and parents. If kid has nowhere else to go and the government has to take the kid into state custody, that’s not the governor’s fault, or the arresting officer’s fault; it is my fault for committing a crime in the presence of my minor child. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/32 "2018-12-19T00:34:50Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > That’s not the law. The law does not say that you can come here illegally and stay so long as you don’t commit felonies. I know that you and those on your side want that to be the law, but it is not. Did you read the OP? It asked what the job of ICE was supposed to be. I was answering that question. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/33 "2018-12-19T01:21:30Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > That’s not the law. The law does not say that you can come here illegally and stay so long as you don’t commit felonies. I know that you and those on your side want that to be the law, but it is not. Wife #2 was doing 90 bringing her daughter from the Memphis airport to Little Rock. I thought the state policeman was going to kill her, but she got a warning. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/34 "2018-12-19T02:30:32Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Perhaps local law enforcement would be less reluctant to cooperate with ICE if they didn’t do things like [attempt to deport U.S. citizens,](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/22/504031635/you-say-you-re-an-american-but-what-if-you-had-to-prove-it-or-be-deported) including [people who can show their U.S. passports.](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-citizens-ice-20180427-htmlstory.html) Speaking of which… [ICE Detained The Wrong Peter Brown](https://www.npr.org/2018/12/18/677780624/ice-detained-the-wrong-peter-brown?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=atc&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2048) > [@](#): > > ICE identified him as a Jamaican who was here illegally and flagged him for deportation. In fact, Brown was born in Philadelphia, raised in New Jersey and has seen Jamaica only once, briefly on a cruise. For weeks, Brown told everyone, repeatedly, that he was a U.S. citizen. He says he received just one response. “I was told that this is between ICE and your attorneys.” ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/35 "2018-12-19T15:46:47Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Perhaps local law enforcement would be less reluctant to cooperate with ICE if they didn’t do things like [attempt to deport U.S. citizens,](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/22/504031635/you-say-you-re-an-american-but-what-if-you-had-to-prove-it-or-be-deported) including [people who can show their U.S. passports.](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-citizens-ice-20180427-htmlstory.html) Your cite says that among the 100,000 or so people ICE arrested last year 157 were found to have had indications of citizenship. I bet most local law enforcement would like to have a record of only making a mistake .15% of the time and getting it right 99.85% of time. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/36 "2026-01-16T02:52:14Z")
yikes had no idea this was a zombie thread…nevermind.🫢 ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/37 "2026-01-16T03:20:12Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If ICE were really to be abolished as the protesters demand, then who would be doing the deportations There are 137,000 federal law enforcement officers in the US, one for every 2500 people. I’m sure a few could be spared to do whatever deportations are needed, without murdering any citizens in the street. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/38 "2026-01-16T03:21:59Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > no idea this was a zombie thread Me neither. Though let’s just say the OPs point have view has not been vindicated by the passage of time ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/39 "2026-01-16T04:54:32Z")
I had to scroll all the way to the top to see who’d started this thread and see…..oh, it was me, huh. Yeah, the view was not vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949/40 "2026-01-16T21:50:54Z")
From here in 2026, it looks sort of quaintly sweet for people to be protesting against ICE just for an occasional comparatively minor overreach, doesn’t it? (Not that I’m saying ICE actions didn’t include some seriously bad shit back in 2018 as well, just that it’s an order of magnitude difference from the degree of aggressiveness and lawlessness we’re seeing now.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-job-of-ice-supposed-to-be-if-not-what-it-is-doing/825949.md?page=3)