Thread by @Haleaziz

“Unfortunately, ICE put their MAGA hat on. They’re gonna try to take it off come January...”

My latest on how ICE became publicly aligned with Trump & where it goes under Biden based off of interviews with 12 current/former ICE officials.

buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…

I spoke with James Schwab, a former ICE spokesman, who said that under the Trump admin, ICE was “about being anti-immigrant and every statement we made, every minute that we spent on our statements, were about showing how immigrants have negatively influenced our country.”

“The whole agency changed a lot,” said one former lead ICE detention official who worked under both Obama and Trump.

“It felt uncontrolled.”

She added that many in the agency were elated when Trump came in.

But preserving civil rights “got a lot harder.”

One former ICE official who served during the Trump administration said agency leaders were often trying to please the White House, including senior adviser Stephen Miller, with policy proposals that would prove their willingness to carry out the president’s agenda.

“There was a constant demand for numbers and for new ideas. Getting tough and taking action to stop sanctuary cities, holding everyone accountable under the law. The agency became focused in service to, in my opinion, a xenophobic enforcement policy,” the former official said.

So, what happens under Biden?

The incoming administration can implement changes to policy but it will still have a workforce that’s dedicated to a single mission: arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants.

Some former officials say a cultural reset is necessary.