For decades, the US government has cultivated an image of law enforcement as highly trained and professional. Police have been portrayed in Hollywood and PR firms as consummate pros who never miss a step. Modern police departments see public perception as something not so much earned but managed through media strategy.
But that carefully crafted myth is slipping fast. In Minnesota, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent chasing protesters on a winter street slipped on literal ice and wiped out hard, a clip perfectly symbolic it feels like satire, except it’s real. This video and other incidents featuring ICE agents bungling basic police work have deflated these efforts to project unflinking competence.
The humiliation was so instant that it went viral, with outlets treating the public's mockery as a story in itself - publishing roundups of the "hilarious reactions" to our own dystopian reality as comedy, rather than an armed and deadly federal agency spiraling in front of its citizens. Instead of the steely-eyed heroes ICE promotes in its recruitment materials and PR spectacles, we're left with slapstick pratfalls and blunders.
ICE has been going viral for its Keystone Cops routines nearly since Donald Trump infused billions of immigration enforcement dollars into DHS and its subagencies last summer. In October, a TikTok from Whittier, California, shows an ICE team attempt to detain a handcuffed man, who promptly breaks free and takes off. Two agents give chase, huffing behind him, until one officer's legs give out, unintentionally ending the operation on the pavement.
These blunders aren’t confined to the streets. ICE has proven equally ham-fisted behind the scenes. In August, 404 Media reported that during a manhunt for a fugitive, ICE and other federal officials accidentally added a random civilian to their group chat - a thread in which agents were actively discussing the operation and sharing sensitive details.
The same bungling that makes ICE officers look like clowns also makes them more likely to hurt people and spark chaos. Consider the tragedy in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a botched encounter on a snowy Minneapolis street.
ICE's defenders may shrug off the viral ridicule or insist that clownish behavior is legally justified to "get the job done!" But this isn't a circus - it's law enforcement. When officers behave like buffoons, public faith dies a little more, and the risks to life and liberty rise.
A recent Wall Street Journal investigation found that since July, immigration agents have fired at or into civilian vehicles at least 13 times, injuring eight people and killing at least two, including Good, whose death has ignited protests and drawn fresh scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics.
ICE's credibility is shot - not just with the public, but also with other law enforcement agencies. Police chiefs around the country have complained that ICE's heavy-handed tactics are further damaging the public’s trust in law enforcement. Immigrant communities, already fearful, now see local cops and ICE as one big threat, which makes them less likely to report crimes or cooperate with investigations.
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
If America’s deportation force can’t chase a suspect without falling over, or make an arrest without pulling a gun on bystanders, perhaps it’s time to ask what purpose such they really serve, other than to put us all in danger? As we watch these agents literally fall over themselves, one thing becomes clear: The only thing more dangerous than an overzealous cop is an incompetent one.
But that carefully crafted myth is slipping fast. In Minnesota, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent chasing protesters on a winter street slipped on literal ice and wiped out hard, a clip perfectly symbolic it feels like satire, except it’s real. This video and other incidents featuring ICE agents bungling basic police work have deflated these efforts to project unflinking competence.
The humiliation was so instant that it went viral, with outlets treating the public's mockery as a story in itself - publishing roundups of the "hilarious reactions" to our own dystopian reality as comedy, rather than an armed and deadly federal agency spiraling in front of its citizens. Instead of the steely-eyed heroes ICE promotes in its recruitment materials and PR spectacles, we're left with slapstick pratfalls and blunders.
ICE has been going viral for its Keystone Cops routines nearly since Donald Trump infused billions of immigration enforcement dollars into DHS and its subagencies last summer. In October, a TikTok from Whittier, California, shows an ICE team attempt to detain a handcuffed man, who promptly breaks free and takes off. Two agents give chase, huffing behind him, until one officer's legs give out, unintentionally ending the operation on the pavement.
These blunders aren’t confined to the streets. ICE has proven equally ham-fisted behind the scenes. In August, 404 Media reported that during a manhunt for a fugitive, ICE and other federal officials accidentally added a random civilian to their group chat - a thread in which agents were actively discussing the operation and sharing sensitive details.
The same bungling that makes ICE officers look like clowns also makes them more likely to hurt people and spark chaos. Consider the tragedy in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a botched encounter on a snowy Minneapolis street.
ICE's defenders may shrug off the viral ridicule or insist that clownish behavior is legally justified to "get the job done!" But this isn't a circus - it's law enforcement. When officers behave like buffoons, public faith dies a little more, and the risks to life and liberty rise.
A recent Wall Street Journal investigation found that since July, immigration agents have fired at or into civilian vehicles at least 13 times, injuring eight people and killing at least two, including Good, whose death has ignited protests and drawn fresh scrutiny of federal enforcement tactics.
ICE's credibility is shot - not just with the public, but also with other law enforcement agencies. Police chiefs around the country have complained that ICE's heavy-handed tactics are further damaging the public’s trust in law enforcement. Immigrant communities, already fearful, now see local cops and ICE as one big threat, which makes them less likely to report crimes or cooperate with investigations.
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
If America’s deportation force can’t chase a suspect without falling over, or make an arrest without pulling a gun on bystanders, perhaps it’s time to ask what purpose such they really serve, other than to put us all in danger? As we watch these agents literally fall over themselves, one thing becomes clear: The only thing more dangerous than an overzealous cop is an incompetent one.
ICE's public image is SO busted 
! Who needs superheroes when you have slip-ups and pratfalls? 
These bungling agents need to up their game, stat 
! It's not a circus, it's law enforcement 
! 
They're making the public doubt their competence & causing chaos on the streets 
. We've got enough problems without this added risk 
. Time for some serious reform 
! Can't trust these agents with our safety, let alone our lives 
. What's the point of having them if they can't even do basic police work? 
They need to get their act together or find a new role in life 
.
. And I think the bigger issue here is that ICE's actions are alienating already vulnerable communities 
... we need to be having serious conversations about immigration reform and how to build trust, not mocking our law enforcement agencies for being human (because they're not) 
. Still, can't help but watch those videos with a mix of amusement and horror 
.
it's not even funny anymore, people are dying because of these guys 
. Meanwhile, innocent people like Renee Good are getting killed, and no one's paying attention because it's just "ICE being ICE" 
. I mean, when does law enforcement become more of a joke than a force for good? Shouldn't they be working to earn trust, not losing it with their antics? 
i mean, who slips on ice while chasing protesters? 
and now they're firing at people in their cars? 
it's just too much 
this is crazy! like, i cant even believe what's happening with ICE 
especially when it's already so tense with protests and whatnot. i feel for Renee Nicole Good's family 
her death was senseless and tragic. ICE needs to step up their game or at least take a good hard look at how they're doing things