ICE will soon be a greater force than the combination of the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Secret Service, accountability shouldn’t be too much to ask for.

Photo by Jean on Unsplash

ICE’s budget will soon increase by more than 300%. It will become the largest law enforcement agency in America, a bigger force than the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Secret Service combined.

ICE must be held accountable for its actions. ICE officers must come out of the shadows, show pride in their roles, and poise in how they carry out their missions.

To be accountable, agents must be identifiable. The fear of doxing can be accommodated by putting easily read identification codes on the fronts and backs of ICE uniforms. Authorities can then trace the ID codes to individual agents if necessary.

Accountability demands transparency.

Transparency is easily accomplished with bodycams. Evidence shows that bodycams benefit everyone: Bodycams protect officers from false accusations, show citizens and their congressional representatives how ICE duties are executed, root out bad apples, increase police-citizen civility, and, of course, provide evidence. Bodycams must be enabled throughout ICE missions. Any attempt to disable a bodycam destroys evidence and should be treated like any other form of Obstruction of Justice.

We have a right to know what ICE officers are doing, their successes and failures. Our representatives in government can’t perform their sworn duties without that knowledge.

We pay ICE agents’ salaries, and they just got a $30 billion raise.

They work for you, and you have a right to know what they’re doing! Accountability and transparency are only controversial among criminals, should any politician deny that right, force them to do so in broad daylight.

To support this idea, please contact your representatives. You can find your federal and state rep’s at https://ballotpedia.org/Who_represents_me (there’s a field for your email, but the site still works if you don’t fill it).

Below is sample text written for politicians that you can cut and paste or edit into your own words or whatever you think best, slightly different text for Federal and State Rep’s.

For federal representatives:

Since ICE will soon become the largest law enforcement agency in America:

1. ICE officers must be accountable for their actions.

2. To be accountable, agents must be identifiable.
The fear of doxing can be accommodated with identification codes on the fronts and backs of uniforms. Authorities can then trace the ID codes to individual agents if necessary.

3. Accountability demands transparency that can be accomplished with bodycams. Bodycams protect officers from false accusations, show citizens how officers’ duties are executed, and help root out bad apples.

4. Bodycams must be enabled throughout ICE missions.

Any attempt to disable a bodycam destroys evidence and should be treated like any other form of Obstruction of Justice.

You cannot perform your duty without explicit knowledge of how Taxpayer’s money is spent, these four steps will provide that knowledge.

ICE works for us, and we have a right to know what they’re doing! Accountability and transparency are only controversial among criminals. Should any politician deny that right, may they do so in broad daylight.

For State Representatives, whether or not state law can constrain ICE has to be addressed:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Since ICE will soon become the largest law enforcement agency in America:

1. ICE officers must be accountable for their actions.

2. To be accountable, agents must be identifiable.
The fear of doxing can be accommodated with identification codes on the fronts and backs of uniforms. Authorities can then trace the ID codes to individual agents if necessary.

3. Accountability demands transparency that can be accomplished with bodycams. Bodycams protect officers from false accusations, show citizens how officers’ duties are executed, and help root out bad apples.

4. Bodycams must be enabled throughout ICE missions.

Any attempt to disable a bodycam destroys evidence and should be treated like any other form of Obstruction of Justice.

Accountability and transparency are only controversial among criminals. State laws that require Points 1 through 5 may not stand up to Supreme Court scrutiny, but anyone who would deny the People’s right to know what their Government does in their name, at their cost, should be required to do so in broad daylight.

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