ICE Forced Into Dress Code After Deadly Shooting

Here come the brown shirts?

In the wake of the most recent deadly shootings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the DHS has announced that ICE will engage in rigorous training, higher candidate standards, an renewd qualifications testi…..oh no, they’re just implementing a dress code, my mistake.

In the face of backlash from the American public over the wanton violence the untrained foot soldiers of fascism are bringing to cities all over the country, ICE has issued a new policy mandating a dress code for field operations. Because THAT’S the real issue.

This new policy, which has been leaked by multiple ICE officers, details a new set of “appearance standards” aimed at making it easier for the public and fellow law enforcement officials to recognize ICE officers in the field. At least they’ll be color coordinated when they’re separating families!

“Law enforcement officers performing field operations shall wear readily identifiable ICE attire, including a ballistic vest during high-visibility operations. Appropriate field attire includes khaki or coyote brown tactical type pants, paired with an ICE polo, or dark blue or black polo.”

Wait, that outfit sounds familiar….

Guess they won’t have to go shopping.

The memo adds, “Clothing such as jeans, sweatshirts, hoodies, non-collared shirts, or apparel displaying graphics or screen prints is not authorized during field operations.”

The new directives for ICE’s Employee Code of Conduct come from a memo signed by Acting ICE Director David Venturella, who has presided over the last two fatal ICE shootings as well as a botched arrest in Las Vegas that looked more like a robbery. In that instance, the two ICE officers were wearing hooded sweatshirts, with one attempting to pull a hood down over his face as another seemingly robbed the victim of his watch.

The officer attempting to make the arrest “looked like a kidnapper,” said one ICE official. The scene was more akin to an episode of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” than a government-sanctioned operation.

“It blew all our minds,” the ICE official said. “It didn’t look professional. They didn’t present a badge when they initiated.”

“Ending the era of ICE agents making arrests in hoodies and unbranded street clothes is a long-overdue admission that unidentifiable immigration enforcement is dangerous, instills fear, and erodes public trust. Real public safety requires holding federal agents to the exact same standards of visibility, training, state and local oversight, and independent investigations of civil rights violations as local law enforcement,” says Nick Wilson, the senior director of public safety policy at Center for American Progress.

Along with the use of masks (face gaiters, really), ICE officers’ failure to clearly identify themselves amid arrests and other enforcement actions has created an atmosphere of terrorism for all encountering them. Attorneys general have pleaded with Congress to pass legislation requiring that ICE officers wear identifying insignia. Congress, in turn, has been toothless, asking ICE to consider following order and structure but doing less than nothing to actually impose change.

The new ICE dress code policy mandates that all arresting officers must clearly display an ICE badge while conducting arrests.

“During low-visibility operations, the ICE badge must remain visible at the time of arrest,” the policy says.

Another ICE official, who also cited the Las Vegas airport incident, said a wave of new ICE recruits and relaxed training standards had contributed to the lack of professionalism. He spoke quite frankly, stating,“What an embarrassment the Vegas video was. Those two fucking clowns should’ve been immediately fired. Half these fucking new DOs (deportation officers) don’t even know the basics of immigration law or how to process an alien. They hired a bunch of fucking clowns, and they look sloppy as shit.”

According to ICE officials, the new dress code could be the first step toward a major shift in ICE’s long-standing status as a plainclothes agency.

“I would say the writing’s on the wall,” said one ICE official. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we go to a uniformed agency.”

What a horror! Having to work within the confines of a system! What’s next… responsibility for their actions?