Immigration has been a hot political issue since the 1870’s. The old system was designed to retain ethnic homogeneity by favoring northern and western Europe. Chinese were excluded in a series of acts starting in 1875 and becoming totally restrictive in 1924. The exclusion was not lifted until 1943.

Two major reform acts were approved in 1965 and again in 1986, each becoming more progressive. 1965 saw formal categories for refugees and was more skill-based and family-based qualifications for entry. It altered the political landscape in voting blocs in California, Texas, and Florida.

1986 saw the creation of the controversial Amnesty Program that is still in effect. It also allowed for work permits for agricultural workers and highly-skilled employees. It also cracked down on employer sanctions and increased enforcement. Major reform bills were introduced in 2006, 2013, and 2024 that ended in Congressional deadlock. The political parties cancelled each other so that nothing happened.

The reorganization of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) in 2002. They are allowed to: interrogate, arrest w/o a warrant if they see a violation or have a “reason to believe” that an illegal immigrant is about to escape, and to search at the borders without a warrant. Within the country, they use an “administrative” warrant rather than a “judicial” warrant, i.e. they don’t have to go before a judge. That does NOT include authority to enter a home without a judicial warrant. Recent Supreme Court rulings have allowed them to make stops based on “reasonable suspicion.”

ICE has become increasingly violent with 32 deaths of people in their custody last year. That was the deadliest year since 2004. That may be due to medical problems, suicide, and increased use of force in apprehension and detention. With more than 73,000 people in detention, the facilities have become overcrowded. ICE is busily buying up warehouses to convert to detention facilities. As a consequence, there is less oversight and regulation and more medical neglect.

The information presented here largely has been ignored by the public. What has received national media attention is the shooting of four U.S. Citizens by ICE agents. Two of those in 2026 were documented with videos from bystanders, and these contradicted the testimony of the ICE agents. Nothing has been resolved legally because of the jurisdiction battles between federal authorities and local police. State crime labs have not been allowed to collect evidence. The Trump Administration claims that ICE agents have “absolutely immunity” from prosecution. The ICE Academy also has shortened the training period from 22 weeks to only 8 weeks.

The two incidents in Minneapolis have resulted in nationwide protests involving thousands of people demonstrating by walking in the streets of nearly all major cities and small towns. They have continued even with the winter weather. It has been a publicity disaster for ICE. In my opinion, they have become a bunch of cowboys without any supervision or control.

All sides seem to agree that we need some legal reforms to our immigration statutes and regulations, but we lack the political will to do anything about them. We just limp along accusing each other of why the problems continue to linger on. It is a major problem without a foreseeable solution.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.