Immigration Agents Terrified by ICE Backlash
Leaked documents show Border Patrol needs volunteers for Minneapolis surge
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SubscribedIn the wake of an ICE officer’s killing of Renee Good, the Department of Homeland Security is rolling out “Operation Metro Surge,” flooding Minneapolis with hundreds of additional federal agents — only to realize it doesn’t actually have the confidence to match the bravado.
While homeland secretary Kristi Noem and others in the administration preen about justifying last week’s shooting and trumpet their war on “domestic terrorism,” DHS is privately divided and hesitant about the latest deployments. According to documents leaked to me, not only is the Department seeking “volunteers” for the apparently unpopular mission, it is urging its agents to maintain a low profile and comply with the use of force policies.
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On Friday, DHS sought volunteers to deploy to Minneapolis, in part due to opposition within the ranks, according to border patrol agents and other homeland security workers who have reached out to me.
“Please begin canvassing your personnel for volunteers,” a memo sent by the Border Patrol’s Acting Assistant Chief Joshua Andrew Post on Friday.
The memo outlines a request for 300 additional personnel — 200 Border Patrol Agents (BPAs) and 100 Processing Coordinators (BPPCs) — to be funneled into “Operation Metro Surge” by Sunday, January 11.
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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.
“We do have personnel but some just don’t want to go,” the agent told me.
Asked about the hunt for volunteers, DHS and Customs and Border Protection did not respond to my request for comment.
“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 deescalation,” a high level career official at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington also told me. “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.”
Within hours of the shooting, Noem held a press conference declaring Renee Good had carried out “an act of domestic terrorism” when she “attempted to run a law enforcement officer over,” as Noem put it.
“There is a video and she just lied,” the Border Patrol agent said of Noem’s characterization of the incident.
The senior DHS official adds that an increasing number of homeland security workers are concerned about the public backlash. “The claim is that recruiting is up, but there is also dread that the gung-ho types that ICE and the Border Patrol are bringing in have a propensity towards confrontation and even violence.”
Today, Border Patrol Tactical Commander Greg Bovino circulated a “legal refresher” for agents in the field including on the use of force — not a move that screams certainty about their conduct. And the Department has sent memos to volunteers for Minneapolis warning about their “operational security,” covering everything from removing any signs of law enforcement affiliation when they are around their hotels to turning off location settings on their phones so that they can’t be tracked.
The guidance also reminds agents that things like profanity, insults and rude gestures are constitutionally protected speech (though “incitement” is not).
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“It sounds like they’re entering a war zone,” says senior intelligence official, who has been involved in discussions about calming the waters around ICE deployments. “Telling a bunch of 20-somethings to be prepared for war — and terrorism — creates the very condition officials are cautioning about.”
The Border Patrol agent said that while a significant minority of his colleagues agree with him, they are not comfortable speaking out given the political climate.
The agent also warned that the voluntary deployments, despite being symptomatic of splits within the agency, could further inflame the situation in Minneapolis.
“Key word is it’s on a ‘voluntary’ basis,” the Border Patrol said. “If no experienced senior agents step up, they send the new guys straight out of the academy. Not a good idea.”
He continued: “In a nutshell, it’s ‘Us versus them’ on steroids and I think some Border Patrol agents are more willing to use force and not feel restrained when you got DHS leadership lying to cover for them. For example, Kristie Noem lying her ass off on what happened is like saying to the federal agents on the ground: ‘Go ahead and do whatever you have to do. We got your back. We will find a way to justify it.’”
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