ICE in America: A Track Record of the Agency's Major Moves Since Its Creation
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—which has been tasked by the Trump administration to rapidly deport “2 to 3 million” undocumented immigrants—has been on the minds of many Americans over the last month. While the epicenter has been in Minnesota, where two civilians have already been shot and killed by federal agents this year, public outrage has been nationwide. Countless people have protested against what they believe is an illegal abuse of force by the agency.
Many people weren’t aware of ICE before Trump 2.0. Here’s a brief history of how it formed and what they’ve done since they launched 23 years ago.
November 2002
In response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, President George W. Bush and Congress move immigration management from the Department of Justice to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This signals a major institutional shift in how the U.S. approaches immigration, framing it as a security issue.
March 2003
The Homeland Security Act, which was created to unify national efforts to prevent, mitigate and respond to terrorist attacks, sets into motion what would be the single-largest government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense. The DHS oversees a new agency, which is now called the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. ICE’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
2003
ICE’s Office of Detention and Removal Operations issues Operation Endgame, a 10‑year strategic plan to build the agency’s capacity to identify, detain and remove all removable aliens within a decade.
2005
Operation Streamline, a joint initiative of the DHS and the Department of Justice, launches to speed up immigration prosecutions along the U.S.–Mexico border. The program mandates criminal prosecution rather than civil deportation for many people apprehended while crossing the border, charging them with federal crimes such as illegal entry or illegal reentry. As a result, migrants are funneled into the federal criminal justice system, often sentenced in mass court proceedings and incarcerated in privately operated prisons under the Criminal Alien Requirement. Critics argue the program prioritizes speed over due process, overwhelms federal courts and accelerates the expansion of for-profit immigration detention.
December 2006
In a coordinated operation across six meatpacking plants in several midwestern states, ICE arrests roughly 1,300 noncitizen workers. At the Swift & Company plant in Worthington, Minnesota, 239 workers are detained, leaving the city’s 11,283 residents in a state of turmoil and fear. Families seek out community churches for asylum, while local organizations work tirelessly to establish faith-based and interpersonal networks to support the community.
2008
ICE rolls out Secure Communities, a nationwide program that automatically shares fingerprints collected by local law enforcement with the DHS. The initiative allows ICE to identify and deport undocumented immigrants after minor arrests, dramatically expanding the agency’s reach into everyday policing.
2009
Congress passes the Immigration Detention Bed Quota, meaning DHS must now maintain a minimum of 34,000 detention beds across the country on any given day. This adds additional pressure to ICE agents amid an immigration crackdown during the Obama era.
September 2011
As part of the Obama administration’s ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators, ICE announces the results of a seven-day national “Cross Check” enforcement operation which led to the arrest of more than 2,900 undocumented immigrants.
October 2011
DHS releases a memo that outlines certain places where ICE agents are advised not to make enforcement actions unless a special circumstance, including schools, hospitals, places of worship, funerals, weddings and public demonstrations or rallies. They are also advised to exercise particular care for children, pregnant women, victims of abuse and those with mental and physical disabilities.
June 2012
President Obama announces Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This grants temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. ICE is instructed to deprioritize enforcement against DACA recipients, formalizing a system in which immigration enforcement is guided by executive discretion rather than statute.
January 2017
By the end of President Obama’s term, ICE detention levels have climbed to an average of 41,000 people per day, reflecting years of expanded interior enforcement. By this point, ICE and related agencies had overseen more than 3 million deportations over Obama’s two terms.
Within days of taking office, President Trump signs executive orders that vastly broaden ICE’s enforcement authority. Under the new framework, any undocumented immigrant becomes a potential target for arrest and removal, regardless of criminal history. ICE arrests rise sharply nationwide.
April 2018
As part of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, ICE begins separating parents from their children after border crossings, placing adults in immigration detention. Some children are transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services. The policy results in thousands of family separations.
February 2021
The Biden administration issues new, less aggressive immigration enforcement guidelines directing ICE to prioritize individuals deemed threats to national security, public safety or border security. Deportations decline. The policy faces internal resistance from ICE officers and legal challenges from Republican-led states, several of which succeed in limiting the administration’s ability to narrow enforcement.
2023–2024
Federal court rulings weaken Biden-era restrictions on immigration enforcement, restoring broader discretion to ICE agents. Detention capacity expands quietly as the agency prepares for a possible shift in administration, setting the stage for a rapid escalation of enforcement under Trump’s return to office.
January 2025
The DHS revokes a policy that had limited federal immigration enforcement in protected locations such as hospitals, schools, places of worship and public rallies. ICE enforcement authority expands, previous restrictions are removed and agents are allowed to make arrests in locations that had been considered off-limits for nearly 15 years. This policy shift marks a major escalation in ICE’s ability to operate within communities and directly affects immigrants access to critical services.
2025
ICE embarks on a major hiring surge backed by its expanded federal budget. In just one year, the agency reports it has more than doubled its workforce from about 10,000 to roughly 22,000 officers and agents as part of a nationwide recruitment campaign, exceeding its initial hiring targets. ICE offers financial incentives including signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student loan repayment benefits to attract recruits.
April 2025
ICE launches Operation Tidal Wave, a large-scale enforcement campaign in Florida aimed at accelerating arrests and deportations in interior cities, not just at the border. The operation emphasizes workplace raids, home visits and coordinated sweeps with local law enforcement.
January 2026
ICE detention levels reach a record high, with nearly 73,000 people held across the U.S. When President Trump took office in January 2025, roughly 40,000 people were in detention.
Two American citizens are fatally shot during the ICE occupation. Alex Pretti is shot in the streets of Minneapolis and Renee Good is shot in her car. Immigration officials apprehend 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos shortly after he arrives home from preschool while his father is in their driveway.
Uncloseted Media hosted its first Miami fundraiser last week. It was a fabulous evening with an amazing crowd who all came together for the purpose of supporting independent, LGBTQ-focused journalism at a time when the queer community and the freedom of the press are under unprecedented attack. We raised more than $40,000 that will all go towards investigating anti-LGBTQ hate in the U.S., Canada and beyond.
Thanks to Paul Grossinger and Artem Ipatev for generously hosting. Thanks to Andy Tobias for speaking at the event. And thanks to everyone else on our incredible host committee: Paul Austin, Betsy Bernard, Carlos Canasi, Dan Marinberg, Richard Weber and Steven Wozencraft.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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