ICE not only looks and acts like a paramilitary force –- it is one, and that makes it harder to curb

ICE, created in response to 9/11, meets most definitions of paramilitary forces. Critics worry it’s gone beyond its writ of immigration enforcement.

By: Erica De Bruin, Hamilton College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: January 29, 2026

Words: 1,372

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Erica De Bruin, Hamilton College

As the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have intensified over the past year, politicians and journalists alike have begun referring to ICE as a “paramilitary force.”

Rep. John Mannion, a New York Democrat, called ICE “a personal paramilitary unit of the president.” Journalist Radley Balko, who wrote a book about how American police forces have been militarized, has argued that President Donald Trump was using …

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