Emails Show ICE Used Increased Force Under Trump

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Newly released emails show that top Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials were aware of a dramatic increase in the use of force by ICE officers in the early months of the Trump administration. The emails indicate that ICE saw a nearly four-fold rise in reported incidents of force used by officers in the first two months of Trump's term compared to the same period in the previous year.

Why it matters

The revelations raise concerns about the conduct of ICE under the Trump administration and whether the agency failed to properly address or curb excessive use of force by its officers. The emails also come amid broader scrutiny of ICE's tactics and the impact of the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies.

The details

According to the emails obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight, Caleb Vitello, who was overseeing ICE's field and enforcement operations at the time, was informed on March 20 that ICE officers had reported 67 incidents of using force in the first two months of Trump's term, compared to just 17 incidents in the same period in 2024 - a nearly four-fold increase.

• The emails were obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
• The emails show that ICE officials were aware of the spike in use of force as early as March 2020, just two months into Trump's presidency.

What’s next

The release of these emails is likely to prompt further scrutiny and investigations into ICE's use of force practices during the Trump administration.