Newsrooms on the Left with distinct political leanings have increasingly attempted to shape public perception by misrepresenting the legal powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Some liberal media outlets, seeking to influence the national conversation on immigration, have misleadingly insisted that ICE agents must obtain a judicial warrant before making the arrest of an illegal alien. Some of their followers have gone as far as boldly claiming that ICE has never possessed the legal authority to even make the arrests at all. Neither assertion is true.
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Raymond Orzel, who once served as the inaugural director and Executive Co-Chair of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and as a Senior Special Agent at ICE, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“Local police officers are not required to obtain a warrant when they come across someone committing a crime in a public space, and the same applies to ICE agents,” Orzel said. He pointed out that under Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE officers “clearly” possess the authority to arrest aliens without needing a judicial warrant.
He explained that ICE-HSI serves as the main investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ranks as the second largest investigative agency within the federal government. “Aside from the FBI,” he also pointed out, “ICE has the highest number of Special Agents, second only to the FBI, dedicated to enforcing over 400 federal laws that fall under its jurisdiction, more than any other federal investigative agency.”
As Orzel stated, “Many people might not realize that ICE consists of two principal operating components. These are Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).”
On the one hand, the HSI directorate is an essential component of the ICE mission, tasked with investigating various domestic and international activities related to the unlawful movement of individuals and goods into, within, and out of the United States. “HSI conducts investigations into immigration offenses, including things like violations of human rights, human trafficking, narcotics and weapons smuggling, various forms of contraband, financial crimes, cybercrime, issues related to export enforcement, and more,” Orzel shared.
“On the other hand,” he said, “ERO administers the country’s immigration laws in a just and efficient way. It detects and apprehends individuals subject to removal, detains them when needed, and expels undocumented aliens when needed.” He pointed out that this unit focuses on the capture, arrest, and removal of convicted offenders, individuals who pose a risk to national security, fugitives, and those who have illegally crossed the border.
Orzel said the deadly shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7 sparked protests nationwide and heightened scrutiny of the agency. He questions whether the scrutiny over the agency’s use of deadly force is truly warranted.
According to DHS Policy Statement 044-05 (Revision 01), as of February 6, 2023, “DHS [law enforcement officers, or LEOs] may use deadly force only when necessary, that is when the LEO has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses and imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the LEO or to another person.”
He pointed out that the memo further clarifies, “Deadly force shall not be used solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject. However, deadly force is authorized to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject where the LEO has a reasonable belief that the subject poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the LEO or others and such force is necessary to prevent escape.”
“Could the Left’s scrutiny of ICE arrests and use of deadly force be nothing more than distraction from the theft of federal funds intended for social-welfare programs in Minnesota?” Orzel asked.
“I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
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