ICE says only 1 of its Race Soldiers Faced Discipline Amid 56 Excessive Force Complaints

ICE officials told House Democrats that only one officer has been referred for disciplinary action in a use-of-force case since the Trump administration began. The disclosure has deepened concerns over oversight, training and vehicle-stop tactics after two recent fatal shootings.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday that only one officer has been referred for disciplinary action in a use-of-force case since the start of the Trump administration. The closed-door briefing covered body cameras, vehicle stops and training, and came amid growing scrutiny of the agency after two recent fatal shootings involving immigrants ICE officers were trying to arrest.

The shootings in Maine and Houston, which took place within a week of each other, have raised concerns about ICE tactics as the agency steps up arrests under President Donald Trump's mass deportation drive. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump returned to office, and in the Maine case, family members of the officer who opened fire have said he had a history of violent behaviour and should not have been given a badge and gun.

Representative Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said lawmakers were told there had been 56 complaints of excessive force against ICE officers. Of these, 32 were cleared and one was referred for disciplinary action, while the rest remain under investigation. Magaziner said they were told that no discipline had yet been imposed. He said, "It just defies belief that an agency of 20,000-plus officers with all of the chaos that we've seen over the last year and a half through the surges and civilians being injured and killed, that no one would be found to have violated use of force with the exception of possibly one person." [MORE]