Featured Image Credit: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, Politics, Truth Social
Phoebe Tonks
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, Politics, Truth Social
Donald Trump has expressed his support for changing the name of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to National Immigration and Customs Enforcement — NICE — as part of his latest Truth Social postings on Monday, April 27.
The idea was first floated by right wing influencer Alyssa Marie last month, when she posted: “I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day everyday," Marie wrote.
Trump reposted this message on his own Truth Social account on Monday, alongside the comment: “GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT. President DJT,”
The suggestion comes as public opinion of ICE remains at an all time low, with the controversial organisation having massively divided the population for their recent heavy handed tactics and unlawful killings.
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As a result, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, remains unfunded by Congress.
Democrats have also called for new restrictions on ICE's operations or even the abolition of the agency entirely, as it continues to lead the charge on the president’s mass deportation agenda amid ballooning funding under the Trump administration’s oversight.
There has also been a vocal backlash from Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar about the potential name change as she argued: “A rebrand won't distract us from the truth: this reprehensible agency murdered two Minnesotans in broad daylight.Abolish ICE”
The suggested name change comes just weeks after ICE reported its 29th death since October, a shocking statistic that marks the highest total since the agency's inception in 2003, surpassing the previous high of 28 deaths in the entirety of fiscal year 2004.
DHS had previously argued that the deaths were due to the volume of people that were currently being detained, roughly 60,000, and represented just 0.009% of the detained population.
Instead of focusing on the loss of life, DHS even argued that for many immigrants detained and awaiting deportation, the administration is providing ‘the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.’
However this cannot be conclusively proven or denied.
The latest death occurred on April 16 in a detention facility in Miami, Florida. According to authorities, 27-year-old Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt was found dead in his cell by a federal officer in what is believed to have been a ‘suicide attempt.’
A 19 year old Mexican man also recently died from a reported suicide, while a 41 year old Afghan man who fought alongside U.S. troops, died less than 24 hours after he was taken into custody.
Meanwhile in an even darker twist, back in January, one detainee, a 55-year-old Cuban, was murdered while in custody at Camp East Montana.
The DHS strongly refuted the murder claim and instead said he had been attempting to commit suicide before officers intervened.
Crucially, the latest figure of 29 doesn’t include any of the adjacent deaths to ICE actions either, such as Alex Pretti and Renee Good who were both killed within days of each other by federal agents back in January.
Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was shot and killed on Jan. 24, while Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7. Both were ruled as homicides.
Criminal charges have not been filed in either shooting.