John,
ICE agents who break state or local law must be held accountable.
Today’s ICE is a heavily militarized force that recruits by promising high pay, tactical gear, and the freedom to operate behind masks with minimal oversight. Recruits are told they’ll be empowered to “take control” and “dominate” situations, creating a pipeline of agents encouraged to escalate encounters rather than resolve them peacefully.
Once deployed, many operate more like a private presidential security force than accountable public servants -- a kind of federally funded Gestapo reporting directly to a president who has already pardoned hundreds of violent criminals who supported him.
No federal badge places anyone above the law. Yet across the country, ICE units have carried out raids that openly violate state and local statutes -- shattering the basic boundaries that protect our civil and human rights.
ICE agents aggressively tackled a 79-year-old car wash owner who posed no physical threat, causing serious injury. They have stormed homes without warrants, zip-tied children, and used chemical weapons -- including pepper balls and tear gas -- against peaceful protesters, journalists, and clergy. They have smashed the windows of vehicles and reached inside to extricate occupants. They have detained American citizens without charges and without cause.
These are not “enforcement actions.” These are criminal acts.
Send a direct message to your State Attorney General, Governor, and local law enforcement leaders, urging them to arrest and prosecute ICE agents who break state and local laws.
Any local or state law enforcement officer who behaved this way would face arrest and prosecution. Federal agents are not exempt. The same standards of justice must apply to anyone who violates the law within our state borders -- including ICE officers who act as if they answer to no one but the president who encourages their violence.
When ICE agents commit crimes in broad daylight, state and local police have both the right and the duty to act. They must be fully empowered to intervene, arrest, and charge rogue agents operating outside the law, in order to preserve public safety and civil order.
When ICE assaults civilians, destroys private property, or disappears people for days, those actions clearly fall under state criminal codes. No federal authority negates this fact -- and presidential pardons do not apply to state laws. When an ICE agent is convicted under state law, the president cannot undo the conviction with the stroke of a pen.
State Attorneys General must uphold their duty to enforce state law, including prosecuting Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel who commit crimes within their jurisdiction. Justice requires accountability -- no exceptions, no immunity.
Federal or local, no officer is above the law.
Urge your State Attorney General to publicly affirm that ICE agents who break state or local laws will be arrested and prosecuted.
Thank you for fighting for the just, transparent, and legal enforcement of our nation’s laws.
- DFA AF Team
