As a veteran of the war on terror, I have spent the past year watching Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers expand their operations across the country on a heretofore unprecedented scale and with a new faux-military bearing. From equipment to weapons to tactics, ICE and other immigration enforcement bodies want to be seen as combat forces carrying out their missions. Witness on Thursday, when White House border czar Tom Homan talked about Minneapolis as a “theater” for his agents. Overlooking that ICE is not, in fact, part of the armed services of the US—it’s a civilian law enforcement agency—it is useful to break down their operations through a military lens to find the strategic implications. Because if an agency wants to cosplay as a military force, it deserves to be evaluated as one.
Let’s start with the tools of the trade: equipment, uniforms, and armament. From the military perspective, soldiers choose the appropriate equipment and armament for the mission. An infantry squad would not go into a jungle campaign equipped for an urban fight. Squads in Iraq and Afghanistan often “dressed down” for counterinsurgency missions, where building mutual trust with locals was more important than showing up as if ready for World War III. Sometimes, units went into the opposite posture when a show of force was needed. Equipment, armament, and tactical employment vary from mission to mission.
ICE agents—civil representatives of the law, remember—often show up to raids kitted out as if they’re preparing to enter Fallujah circa 2004 against a well-entrenched enemy equipped with machine guns, mortars, and explosive vests. They also arrive in a mishmash of uniforms, hoodie sweatshirts, military gear, and masks, leaving everyone confused as to whether these are law enforcement officers or just some random dudes.