Yeah I don’t think people understand how bad it is. ICE are a lawless secret police force with loyalty only to trump and they are actively and intentionally recruiting racists and fascist and fast tracking them through regardless of background. Right wing gangs like the Proud Boys are actively funneling their members into it.

Their budget right now is larger than the Marine Corps and a lot of their members are looking at unemployment or prison time if the democrats get back into control of the government. Think about what they are likely to do during the mid terms if they are told to monitor election sites. They are a gang of dangerously brutal violent thugs operating with complete impunity.

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nozzlegear 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

To your point, this article¹ recently analyzed records from the Federal Procurement Data System and found that ICE has boosted their weapons spending by 700%:

> Most of the spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components.”

I'd really like to know why ICE needs guided missile warheads to do their job. (Edit: pointed out below, this is a purchase category that includes distraction devices like smoke grenades – they're thankfully not buying actual warheads.)

At this point, I'm confident that ICE could kick down my door and blow my white, midwestern, US Citizen ass away where I sit on this couch, and none of them would ever see the inside of a courtroom.

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edot 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

I doubt this makes you feel better but they didn't buy guided missile warheads. That category ("guided missile warheads and explosive components") contains, among other things, "distraction devices". So things like flashbangs, smoke grenades, etc.

The purchase order PDF is linked here: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ice-guided-missile-warhead...

	▲	nozzlegear 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you! I'm still concerned about the massively increased weapons spending (it partly makes sense since they've been hiring so much, every agent has a gun), but it's good to know they're not buying actual warheads lol. I appreciate the link and the correction.

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chasd00 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

i'm not into this level of conspiracy really but all it takes is a lawyer checking a box and then giving a thumbs up and you could be killed with a Hellfire launched from a MQ9 at any time. This has already happened during the Obama admin and MQ9s patrol the border so is pretty much inevitable if not already happening there.

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kevin_thibedeau 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> a lot of their members are looking at unemployment or prison time

They're all going to receive a blanket pardon.

	▲	solid_fuel 5 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> They're all going to receive a blanket pardon. Well, we've already crossed into "the law is what I say it is" territory thanks to the republicans, so the next admin just needs to leverage that. The GOP thinks that pardons signed by autopen are invalid [0] so I don't see what would stop the democrats from apply the same logic to ICE agents and administration, except perhaps cowardice. [0] https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5575379-house-gop-comer-d...
	▲	BeFlatXIII 6 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		…and a Dem president would be too cowardly to add "new" charges and break the system.
	▲	SpicyLemonZest 5 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		A blanket pardon can protect you from prison time, it can't guarantee you a job. We can do quite a lot to ensure that people who worked for ICE from 2025-2028 die miserable, penniless, and alone.
	▲	dragonwriter 5 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> They're all going to receive a blanket pardon. To the extent that their actions are unlawful, they are often crimes under state law in the states they occur, as well as federal law. The President of the United States has no power to pardon state law offenses (and while there may be political considerations that discourage pursuing charges while it might provoke conflict with the Trump Administration, but in many cases the statutes of limitations for violent crimes under state law are not short.