Initially, I thought this was a different publication. How did The Washington Post publish this, especially from the editorial board? It was a solid op-ed emphasizing the importance of keeping the agency fully operational during a period of increased terrorist reprisals, due to our air campaign against Iran. It also pointed out that the Democrats’ strategy—trying to limit ICE raids via more legal procedures like judicial warrants—is essentially ineffective. They acknowledged it’s not practical. Additionally, the recent shutdown doesn’t affect the deportation raids, as they’ve been funded by the Big, Beautiful Bill (via WaPo):
…it’s embarrassing that it is taking this long to reach a deal that boosts training and accountability without impeding ICE agents from pursuing legitimate public safety threats.
Banning agents from wearing masks and requiring a form of identification is normal across American law enforcement. Requiring judicial warrants isn’t practical for every single deportation, but there are reasonable compromises short of that. Mandating the use of body cameras and requiring better training wouldn’t just help restore public trust. It would boost the credibility of agents.
Not everyone will get what they want. Congressional Republicans can’t simply ban sanctuary cities. And Democrats won’t get Republicans to ban every ICE operation in residential areas. They might look to savvy politicians like Collins, who was able to announce the end of an enhanced ICE operation in her state after appealing directly to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. In an interview, Collins said that “sitting down with DHS and discussing strategies to focus on detention and deportation of criminals” is a good way to prevent ICE surges.