Immigration in the Election, ICE or Nah?

By Saudiel Benitez

Photo: Bill Clark

Agencies and the Election 

The 2020 election has been focused on a wide range of domestic policies, but  immigration seems to be one that has been slowly losing the attention of the American public. Immigration policies are controlled by the President, Congress and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Comprehending these entities and functions are key to see the impact it has not just on immigrant families, but American citizens as well in this upcoming election. 

ICE is a federal agency that falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS along with ICE was established recently in 2003 as a response to the 9/11 attacks and the growing resentment toward immigrants that followed. Since then, ICE has become the largest federal agency with a budget of about $8 billion. The function of the agency is to “oversee the enforcement of legal immigrant laws…” along with managing “detentions and the removal of people who have already been arrested for immigration violations.” ICE enforces immigration laws and detains those who they deem violates the law. They function similar to the police, but instead of working at the local or state level, they work federally across the United States as one agency. 

What does the US general election and other Congressional seats have to do with ICE? The President has the power to appoint the director at ICE, who oversees the agency.  Through executive orders the President can shift the focus of the agency. Congress has the means to fund ICE and allocate resources to them. 

The Politicians 

The goal of many racial justice advocates is the abolition of ICE. Unfortunately, while this won’t be possible under the Biden or Trump administration, it’s important to consider the differences. The Donald Trump Administration will continue to uphold white supremacy and racially agitate America. The racial agitation can be as blunt as the racist rhetoric of building a border wall or attacking Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. This will lead to more radical oppression of immigrant communities and their dehumanization will continue. We see this language manifest into policy, with the administration making it “more expensive than ever to become a citizen” and higher “scrutiny of all immigration applications on the premise of rooting out fraud.” Under the Trump administration, we’ve seen reports of the violation of women's bodily autonomy, religious beliefs, and denial of basic human needs.

Under a Joe Biden administration, there will be no racial agitation and less egregious violations of human rights. Biden will inflict less harm, though not devoid of harm, director of ICE being appointed. During the Obama administration, Biden upheld ICE facilities and deported numerous immigrant families, often separating families. We’ll expect to see marginal improvements to the conditions, starting with no longer forcing Muslims to eat pork or expired food. Under Obama, the DACA program created support for immigrants. While Biden won’t completely abolish ICE facilities, Biden will take the smallest step in the right direction. A step nonetheless that will help advocates of abolition garner support for their cause. We can also expect more support for the abolition of ICE under Biden as immigrant communities will be less damaged.

Congressional races depend on where you live, who you’ll see on your ballot will be different than someone in a different district. There's a lot of candidates, take the time to research candidates' stances on immigration and the record. 

The Consequence and You

We understand the two major political parties’ positions, but what does that mean for people living in the US? Immigrants and even US citizens are subjected to punitive measures and human rights violations, such as forced hysterectomies. These detention centers show a slow but clear descent into a fascist government. Voting is not going to remove or stop these destructive forces, but it can attempt to restrain them. Voting can create less barriers on the pathway to abolish ICE. 

If not voting, then what? There’s a lot of different ways to help ranging from donating money, volunteering, joining an organization, protesting or unionizing. At Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), we focus on community building and helping Black and brown folks. By working within your community, you not only have a more direct impact, you get to meet other organizers and learn!