How the Trump Admin Is Turning Americans Against ICE and CBP

By Tim Gutierrez

US Border Patrol agents outside the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Photographer: Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

I have never seen so many American citizens – White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian – furious at ICE and CBP. Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan are directly responsible for destroying the reputation of these agencies. They’ve turned them into political weapons used to harass American citizens who simply disagree with their politics.

For most American citizens, ICE and CBP were barely on the radar. ICE traditionally handled immigration violations for individuals with final deportation orders after due process, and CBP operated largely at the border. But under Noem’s direction, CBP is now working alongside ICE far from any border – inside U.S. cities – targeting citizens and blue states for political theater. These agencies have shifted from enforcing the law to functioning as a politicized strike force, props for Trump’s manufactured photo ops.

The signs are everywhere. Today, ICE and CBP armed agents appeared at Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting announcement. Just last night in Washington, D.C., DHS set up checkpoints under the pretense of checking immigration status. Immigration checkpoints in the nation’s capital? This isn’t law enforcement – it’s intimidation.

Some of the loudest voices condemning this politicization of ICE and CBP are not Democrats, but “white” Republicans who served under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. They recognize what this is: a blatant abuse of power that undermines the integrity of federal law enforcement.

As Linda Chavez argues:

A June Gallup poll found that support for mass deportation has dropped to 38 percent among American adults, while 78 percent favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants if they meet certain requirements….More Americans believe that sending heavily armed, masked men, many with no identifying badges or uniforms, into Home Depot parking lots, farms, restaurants, and car washes, or having them lurk outside courthouses, schools, and even churches to snatch suspected illegal immigrants without warrants violates the essence of American justice.

The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” allocated $45 billion to recruit 10,000 new agents and $5 billion for detentions. Instead, Noem and Miller are spending recklessly – hiring unqualified 18-year-olds with no experience or education, and even bringing on 60-year-olds just to hit recruitment targets. The rush to burn through funds before Trump leaves office in 2029 raises an obvious question: What happens when the money is gone, and Congress refuses to keep paying for thousands of extra agents?

When this regime ends, ICE and CBP will almost certainly face major restructuring – possibly even decommissioning – because public trust has been shattered. The fault will lie on Trump, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan who treated ICE and CBP federal agency as their personal political enforcement arm.

Trump will hide behind presidential immunity for his abuses of power. But Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan are unelected bureaucrats who weaponized federal agencies against the American people. They will not have that shield – and they must be held accountable.