Senator Cory Booker had been floated as a new type of democratic ‘hero’ after he filmed a 30 hour filibuster. He was heralded by the scions of print journalism as well as MSNBC. That praise was wasted. Filming a filibuster while ensconced in the chambers of the US Senate is not exactly the equivalent of someone like Congresswoman LaMonica McIver. McIver was the congresswoman who heroically attempted to fulfill her congressional duties by conducting a spontaneous inspection of the ICE detention center in her own district. For her efforts, (along with two of her congressional colleagues), she was beaten, arrested, and is now facing ‘trumped up’ aka fraudulent federal charges with a possible sentence of 17 years in prison, if convicted. THAT is heroism. What Cory Booker accomplished with his televised filibuster was free publicity for a future presidential run. Nothing but political theater by yet another ambitious attorney. Now, the reason for this piece isn’t Booker’s cheap filibuster; it’s his asinine video bemoaning the lack of training granted new ICE agents these days, as the cause of present ICE abuses. Booker has further proposed legislation which would ‘professionalize’ ICE with stringent training requirements. He believes that such improved training will remedy the current lawlessness and abuse being dished out by ICE.
The proposed bill…The Federal Law Enforcement Standards and Accountability Act (FLESA Act)…
Now in all fairness, the proposed legislation has several good provisions. Not only would it ensure minimum standards for hiring, but it would prohibit “accelerated or abbreviated training programs.” There are multiple bullet points provided in Booker’s press release. Point #6 would…”prohibit the hiring of individuals affiliated with hate groups, affirming that federal law enforcement must be free from extremism and bias.” Though this condition sounds lovely in a press release; there would be obvious 1st amendment constitutional challenges, so enforcement could be difficult. The bill would also … “limit eligibility for individuals with certain prior criminal convictions and prohibit the restoration of eligibility through pardons or expungements.” This feature begs the question as to why such eligibility is merely ‘limited’ as opposed to an outright ban for such individuals.
FLESA Act companion bill…the FOCUS Act….
The FLESA Act is paired with a companion bill, aka The Federal Officer Camera Usage for Safety Act or the FOCUS Act. Besides requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras, it would also … “mandate the preservation of recorded footage, with extended retention periods for recordings involving a use of force incident, a criminal arrest, a misconduct complaint, and officer’s or subject’s request for preservation, or training purposes.” The necessity of this feature merely serves to reinforce accusations that officers and prosecutors have a history of evidence tampering and evidence destruction. Ironically, evidence tampering and premature destruction, are already felonies.
While these companion bills do contain some needed reforms; they do not address the core issue which is the ICE agency itself, its history of corruption through both democratic and republican administrations, and the utter lack of transparency and accountability, hiding behind executive branch claims of ‘national security.’ No, Senator, ICE must be abolished and every supervisor, attorney and agent must face criminal investigation and possible prosecution. No exceptions.
ICE is not the only immigration agency…
ICE was created in the aftermath of 911. Prior to ICE, the agency known as Immigration & Naturalization Services (INS) conducted these functions historically. In truth, ICE is an unnecessary redundancy. Those who claim that abolishing ICE would leave us without an immigration policing force are leading with a false argument. INS can–and has handled these duties for decades. Abolishing ICE, with its wholesale criminality will not leave the nation without protection.
Better training for ICE could make for ‘better trained’ Gestapo thugs…
Senator Booker fails to see that demanding higher standards for ICE agents only ensures that our abusers become smarter and better able to illegally frame political targets for crimes they didn’t commit. We don’t have to look any farther than the DOJ to find highly trained and corrupted public officials such as Vice President JD Vance, (who is an alum of the Yale Law School), or the present DOJ Solicitor General, D. John Sauer, (who graduated from the Harvard Law School magna cum laude). (Note: The above allegations of corruption is an aspect of failed character development and not an accusation of proven criminal activity).
In fact, the Heritage Foundation who authored the vile Project 2025, is chock full of highly educated personnel, and those ‘highly qualified’ individuals didn’t suddenly experience an epiphany of conscience or a sense of duty to democratic rule, merely as a by-product of their education. Senator Booker has made the false assumption that ‘better training’ will result in ethical behavior on the part of ICE. No such link has been established. Some of our nation’s most egregious–yet unprosecuted–criminals have advanced degrees–often as alumni from top Ivy League law schools.
Now, while Senator Booker is correct, that law enforcement at ALL levels must undergo serious reforms; ICE is beyond such reform. We need only review a spattering of the agency’s 23 year history to witness the systemic criminality of this ill founded agency.
ICE history of abuse–since it’s ill planned inception….
ICE has a history of systemic abusive practices dating back to its inception in 2003. It was created by the Homeland Security Act, which was part and parcel of an unnecessary government reorganization. Below is a brief list of documented abuses committed by ICE:
- Democracy NOW reported in September of 2020, a complaint from a whistleblower nurse, Dawn Wooten, who accused …”an ICE jail in Georgia of failing to adhere to coronavirus safety protocols and performing a large number of unwanted hysterectomies on detainees. The doctor who carried out the procedures became known to women inside the facility as “the uterus collector.” Wooten, a nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center, described the neglect and abuse at the facility to be “jaw-dropping.”
- Shamefully, the systemic abuse occurs not only in ICE detention centers, but on the streets, long before the abducted ever make it to any detention center. ProPublica reporters Nicole Foy and McKenzie Funk published an expose January 13, 2026 titled: “We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing.” Highlighted claims from the piece were as follows:
- “Chokeholds: We found over 40 cases of agents using chokeholds and other moves that can block breathing. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen.”
- “Former Police Are Appalled: We showed former police and immigration officials videos of incidents. They said agents are out of control. One said it’s “the kind of action which should get you fired.” “
- “Banned Tactics, No Punishment: There is a federal ban on chokeholds and similar tactics. But there is no sign of punishment for officers who’ve used them.”
Patterns of criminality by ICE…
ICE fails to document the number of detentions or other instances of violence. ProPublica explained that the federal government doesn’t keep a frequency count regarding citizens who are illegally detained. In another piece written by Nicole Foy and Sarahbeth Maney; the following patterns were revealed:
- “Americans Detained: The government doesn’t track how many citizens are held by immigration agents. We found more than 170 cases this year where citizens were detained at raids and protests.”
- “Held Incommunicado: More than 20 citizens have reported being held for over a day without being able to call their loved ones or a lawyer. In some cases their families couldn’t find them.”
- “Cases Wilted: Agents have arrested about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, for allegedly interfering with or assaulting officers, yet those cases were often dropped.”
ICE has history of evidence tampering and destruction of records…
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the American Immigration Council filed an amicus brief in federal court against the following parties:
“NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION; DAVID S. FERRIERO, in his official capacity as Archivist of the United States; U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; and MATTHEW T. ALBENCE, in his official capacity as Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Defendants.”
The above case is recorded as CREW et al., v. National Archives and Records Administration et al. This amicus brief was filed in 2020 and challenged a proposed plan to schedule records destruction requested by ICE. The American Immigration Council further stated their objection regarding proposed records destruction with the following concerns:
“This case implicates two longstanding and interrelated concerns with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)”:
1.)”A history of mistreatment of individuals in ICE detention and a profound lack of transparency regarding this mistreatment. The records at risk of destruction in this case go to the heart of harmful and little understood ICE policies in place within ICE detention facilities such as the use of solitary confinement. These records provide a comprehensive assessment of “problems and concerns” related to the operation of ICE
Detention facilities in the form of detention monitoring assessments.”
2.) “The sexual abuse and assault and deaths of individuals in detention. The records are powerful reminders of the potential fate of individuals held in ICE’s civil immigration detention system.”
The American Immigration Council further explained that in…”the amicus brief, the Council and partners documented the reliance on these records by researchers and advocates to monitor and expose these troubling practices. The amicus addresses the need for the preservation of these ICE records as a matter of transparency and accountability.”
Essentially, the records are required as evidence of ICE criminality, and as such should never be tampered with or destroyed. The Trump administration knows this and his DOJ seems to be fine with such evidence tampering as we have seen with the systemic knuckle dragging by DOJ as they violate the Epstein Files Transparency Act (HR 4405) Why should we believe any claims made by ICE, DHS, or the DOJ within this administration?
Individual cases of illegal abuse and brutality…
Renee Nicole Good…
Renee Nicole Good was murdered by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. She was shot in the face at point blank range for nothing. Her last words were simply…”That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.” The Trump DOJ is now demanding a criminal investigation of Good’s widow.
One last thing, Jonathan Ross was an ICE trainer in good standing.
Arlit Maria Martinez…denied a visit to her 15-year-old son dying of cancer…
Arlit Maria Martinez was ‘detained’ by ICE on January 3. Her son, Kevin was diagnosed with cancer four months ago. He was dying in the hospital at the time of her detention. Mrs. Martinez was detained by ICE outside of her workplace and was the sole support for her four children, aged 16, 15, 12, and 9. Her husband is unable to work as he is Kevin’s primary caregiver. Kevin’s brother, Ervin wrote the following on a GoFundMe page established to help pay medical and burial bills.
“After my mom was taken to a holding facility in Baltimore, my brother Kevin’s health took a turn for the worse. Late that night, he had to be rushed to the ER, but he was too unstable to be transported to his regular doctors in Baltimore. My dad stayed by my brother Kevin’s side, doing his best ot comfort him while dealing with the stress of losing his wife to ICE custody. Tragically, my brother Kevin lost his fight with cancer the next morning, and my mom was not allowed to be there to say goodbye. Despite calls to ICE, visits from attorneys, and outreach from doctors, my mom has not been released to mourn her son.”
Kevin Martinez was only 15-years-old. He died without his mother present as ICE officials denied her desperate request to be at his bedside.
In conclusion…cruelty is the point….
The campaign to dehumanize our brothers and sisters has produced this cold blooded cruelty–and that’s the point. Denying a dying child the right to see his mother for the last time is the epitome of evil. The blatant indifference is bone chilling. Murdering a woman in cold blood after she issues her final words of, “That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you”, plainly demonstrates the indifference and dehumanization dished out by ICE on a daily basis. These crimes aren’t a byproduct; they’re the plan.
‘Better training’ for ICE claim is asinine…
Now, back to Senator Cory Booker’s initial statement attributing ‘better training’ for ICE agents as the miracle cure. Exactly how would a more rigorous ‘training’ protocol address these needs? How would more ‘training’ remedy what has proven to be–a thoroughly corrupted culture? These questions will not be addressed by mandating ‘improved training protocols’ for new and existing ICE agents.
The problem isn’t ‘training.’ The problem is a total lack of meaningful accountability. The problem isn’t ‘training.’ The problem is qualified immunity. The problem isn’t ‘training.’ The problem is historic white supremacy, misogyny, and Nazism. The problem isn’t ‘training.’ ICE is doing exactly what it was ‘trained’ to do. The problem isn’t ‘training. The problem is the wholesale cowardice flooding the democratic party.
So, you see Senator–the problem isn’t ‘training.’ Suggesting that it is–would be akin to suggesting that better ‘training’ would have reformed the old slave catchers–or Hitler’s Gestapo. Such weak sauce coming from a highly educated attorney such as yourself is the stuff cowardly collaborators dream of. “Better training” does not compensate for moral bankruptcy and wholesale corruption. To assume that it would, is in a word—asinine–and yet, the asinine nature of your plan isn’t the core problem. The core problem is twofold: indifference to suffering by the rich and powerful–and–again–wholesale cowardice from those who would represent the public. The public has grown numb to the cruel indifference and disdain the rich and powerful hold towards those of us forming the ‘unwashed masses.’ Cruelty and indifference remain the symptoms of this disease.
That being said, it’s the wholesale cowardice of the democratic party that is the cause of this disease—fascism.
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