1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Senator Cory Booker has argued that ICE’s problems can be solved with more training. That premise is false. Training does not fix an agency that is unnecessary, unaccountable, and operating as a private army paid for by taxpayers. We already have everything required for lawful border and immigration enforcement: Border Patrol, the National Guard, the military, and civilian police, all with defined missions and oversight. If individuals wish to do legitimate border work, they can apply to Border Patrol, where standards and accountability exist. ICE has instead recruited Proud Boys, known thugs, and individuals attracted to violence and intimidation—people who should never be in law enforcement. No amount of training transforms people who enjoy hurting others into safe public servants. Predictably, ICE now operates as a masked, heavily armed force used to suppress peaceful protest and escalate violence, culminating in the killing of Renee Good. Public defenses of ICE reveal a disturbing reality: harm to civilians is not a deterrent but a feature. When shootings are minimized, investigations rejected, and violence reframed as acceptable, support for ICE becomes less about enforcement and more about cruelty rationalized as policy. This is not a training failure. ICE is unnecessary and should be abolished. Its functions can and should be absorbed by existing agencies operating under constitutional guardrails and real oversight.