Unmasking ICE

Under President Donald Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) became a powerful and controversial tool of his administration’s crackdown on immigrants, often operating with impunity, staggering expense, and little oversight. ICE agents have unlawfully detained immigrants, including legal residents and American citizens, some of whom were battling serious illnesses such as cancer. In several cases, individuals have been sent to foreign or domestic prisons, or had their government identification records deleted entirely. Adding to the fear, bad actors have impersonated ICE officers, taking advantage of the agency’s lack of transparency, as many agents do not display badge numbers or show their faces. This has left vulnerable communities feeling unsafe and unprotected. Here we highlight the devastating human cost of these policies, featuring stories of those disappeared by ICE and the communities left in fear. Included here are resources to track and respond to ICE activity: a community-powered app to report ICE sightings in real time, an interactive map documenting disappearances, and a publicly available list of known ICE agents.