What is Ice?
What is Ice?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law-enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Its stated role is to enforce immigration laws inside the United States, including identifying, detaining, and deporting non-citizens who are alleged to be in violation of those laws.
ICE operates separately from border agencies. Most of its actions take place inside U.S. communities, not at the border.
What ice does
ICE carries out arrests, detention, and deportation proceedings against non-citizens. This often includes:
Holding people in immigration detention centers, sometimes for months or years
Deporting individuals, including long-term residents and parents of U.S. citizens
Separating families during arrests, detention, or removal
Transferring people between facilities far from their homes and legal support
These actions are administrative, not criminal, meaning many people detained by ICE have not been convicted of a crime.
Why Fight?
Opposition to ICE is rooted in concerns about civil rights, due process, and humanitarian impact.
Critics point to:
- Detention without guaranteed legal representation
- Conditions inside detention facilities, including reports of abuse and neglect
- Family separation and its long-term effects on children
- Deportations that disrupt communities and livelihoods
- Limited oversight and accountability
For many, opposition is not about borders or immigration alone; it is about how enforcement is carried out, who it affects, and whether those practices align with basic human rights and constitutional principles.
The Truth about ice.
ICE is often described as a public safety agency. In practice, most of its enforcement activity involves civil immigration violations, not criminal convictions.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, immigration detention is an administrative system, meaning people can be detained without being charged with (or convicted of) a crime.
Unlike the criminal justice system, people in immigration detention are not guaranteed legal representation, even when facing prolonged incarceration or permanent separation from their families.
“Immigration detention is not punishment for a crime. It is a civil process, yet it involves incarceration-like conditions.”
— American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Detention Without Due Process
ICE arrests often take place far from the border; in homes, workplaces, courthouses, or during routine check-ins. Once detained, individuals may be transferred across state lines with little notice, making it difficult for families to locate loved ones or for attorneys to maintain representation.
A report by the American Immigration Council found that:
Over 70% of detained immigrants have no lawyer
Detention can last months or even years, despite the civil nature of the process
“Detention severely limits access to counsel and increases the likelihood of deportation, regardless of the strength of a person’s case.”
— American Immigration Council
Conditions Inside Detention Centers
Most ICE detention centers are operated by private prison corporations or local jails under federal contracts. Multiple government investigations, human rights organizations, and medical experts have documented serious concerns inside these facilities.
The Department of Homeland Security’s own Office of Inspector General has repeatedly reported:
Inadequate medical care
Unsafe living conditions
Poor oversight and accountability
Between 2003 and today, hundreds of people have died in ICE custody, many from treatable conditions.
“ICE detention facilities often fail to meet basic standards of care, placing detainees at unnecessary risk.”
— DHS Office of Inspector General
Family Separation as a Systemic Outcome
ICE enforcement regularly results in the separation of parents from children, including U.S. citizen children. Deportation proceedings do not require consideration of family unity as a primary factor.
Human Rights Watch has documented long-term consequences for children affected by immigration detention and deportation, including trauma, anxiety, and economic instability.
“The separation of families through immigration enforcement causes lasting harm that extends well beyond the individual being detained.”
— Human Rights Watch
Why People Oppose ICE
For many critics, opposition to ICE is not about borders alone. It is about how enforcement is carried out, who is affected, and whether the system respects fundamental rights.
Concerns center on:
Detention without guaranteed legal counsel
Lack of transparency and oversight
Civil incarceration that mirrors criminal punishment
The humanitarian impact on families and communities
“A system that deprives people of liberty without basic legal protections raises serious constitutional and moral questions.”
— National Immigration Law Center
Sources & Reporting
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DHS Office of Inspector General
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Immigration Council
Human Rights Watch
National Immigration Law Center