Immigration agents are privately expressing hesitation about their deployments as they face growing backlash from lawmakers and civilians alike, according to a new report.
A Department of Homeland Security memo that was leaked to independent journalist Ken Klippenstein appears to show the agency calling on agents to volunteer for the surge in Minneapolis. However, agents who spoke with Klippenstein said some are hesitant because of the dangers it entails.
The memo tells agents to keep a low profile, hide any insignia that could tie them to Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to be mindful of what they post on social media.
"A Border Patrol agent familiar with the discussions said the volunteer push reflects real unease in the ranks about the Good shooting in Minneapolis and the related surge," Klippenstein reported.
He spoke with one agent that DHS has the manpower for its surge already, but "some just don't want to go."
“There might be some immature knuckleheads who think they are out there trying to capture Nicolas Maduro, but most field officers see a clear need for de-escalation,” a high-level career official at Homeland Security headquarters told Klippenstein. “There is genuine fear that indeed ICE’s heavy-handedness and the rhetoric from Washington is more creating a condition where the officers’ lives are in danger rather than the other way around.”
The hesitation comes at a time when tensions are running high in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was protesting an ICE raid. Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while she was trying to leave the scene. Good's killing sparked protests nationwide.
Law enforcement experts have pointed out that Ross appears to have violated several ICE policies during the shooting. Trump administration officials have defended Ross's actions and said he enjoys "absolute immunity."