As far as I can tell not a single person at ICE has been fired. Nor does it appear anyone from Musk’s DOGE ‘task farce force’ so much as talked to anyone at ICE, much less visited the HQ or any of the field offices. (Or Gitmo) What about that ‘blanket’ order to fire all probationary federal employees including longtime federal workers who’d taken new jobs with the government? You remember the news stories about workers at the VA, Dept. of Energy (including folks who protect nukes), the FAA (including air traffic controllers), Agriculture (aid to farmers and food assistance programs too) and others. EXCEPT we didn’t hear a peep about anyone at ICE still in probationary status being fired! Then there’s all the literal waste, fraud and abuse at ICE which is supposedly what DOGE insists is government wide and has to be eradicated. To me it looks like ICE has even more immunity (from DOGE) than Trump got from SCOTUS last year! Once upon a time major news outlets would be asking questions about this but those days are gone. So it falls to political blogs like this one to point out the Double Standard, the hypocrisy taking place.
Let’s start with a big one – the firing of probationary employees. As I said, we saw plenty of stories about federal workers with great performance reviews summarily fired. Even people with years of solid federal service who’d only changed jobs within the government were sent packing. Yet I don’t recall a single, solitary story about a probationary worker from ICE being fired! Not one. I rather doubt ICE didn’t have a single person in probationary status while countless other federal workers were being fired for ‘only’ being probationary in their jobs. If there’s a conservative reading this who wants to say otherwise then provide verifiable details. I for one won’t accept Trumpian “people say” vague bullsh*t on this point.
We then have the other stuff – the waste, fraud and abuse. It’s not like any of it is new with ICE. Back during Trump’s first term ICE, which already had a less than savory reputation developed an appalling one – and openly flouted it. So did Trump. It was often said and written (including by me) that from Trump on down the actions were fueled by a “The CRUELTY is the point” attitude. It was like collectively there was orgiastic delight when news stories about some heartless, downright cruel action was taken. Well, they might have had to tone things down for four years on that score but I know in my heart the bulk of people at ICE were thrilled the day after the election. Rubbing their hands with glee and dreaming up new cruelties to inflict secure in the knowledge that THIS time the big boss Trumpty would give them carte blanche. Including federal pardons if needed.
In only a couple of months ICE has made the same mistakes they so often did during Trump Term #1. Arresting people who were citizens or at least here with valid green cards (sometimes even members of the military) even if they hadn’t committed any crime. Sometimes even deporting them! Hey, for an ICE officer/agent needing to get their rocks off wrecking lives seemed like a sure way to do so. They don’t care if they cast a ridiculously wide net that catches a bunch of people that shouldn’t have to deal with them as this article from Pro Publica tells us:
Experts and advocates say that what is clear to them is that Trump’s aggressive immigration policies — such as arrest quotas for enforcement agents — make it likely that more citizens will get caught up in immigration sweeps.
“It’s really everyone — not just noncitizens or undocumented people — who are in danger of having their liberty violated in this kind of mass deportation machinery,” said Cody Wofsy, the deputy director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Asked about reports of Americans getting caught up in administration’s enforcement policies, an ICE spokesperson told ProPublica in a written statement that agents are allowed to ask for citizens’ identification: “Any US immigration officer has authority to question, without warrant, any alien or person believed to be an alien concerning his or her right to be, or to remain, in the United States.” The agency did not respond to questions about specific cases.
How about we shift to talking about fraud? Leaving aside what’s likely happening with private prisons working out contracts to house ICE detainees (their facilities are full and private prisons that overcharge states to house inmates will be happy to overcharge the federal govt.) there’s the matter of Trump DOJ lawyers in federal court. As in trying to slip b.s. past federal judges and even outright lying to them. Judges are I should note increasingly fed up, and things could get really ugly as early as next week. However, Trump’s DOJ is in fact working directly with the administration and ICE to make fraudulent claims about what’s going on. On the record in open federal court proceedings! This article from The Hill describes a great example of a judge fed up with the dissembling and lies of DOJ lawyers:
Administration officials on March 15 rebuffed an oral order from U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg to turn around or halt flights of Venezuelan migrants headed to a Salvadoran prison.
In the week since, they have lashed out at the judge inside and outside of court, diminishing Boasberg’s authority over the matter and repeatedly refusing to provide requested information in court. President Trump and allies in Congress have even floated impeaching Boasberg — sparking some rare public pushback from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Keep an eye on this for two reasons. This group was rushed out of the country because Trump used, misapplied actually a really old federal law, and called the deportees invading criminals/terrorists so there’s that. At the same time, Boasberg isn’t just another federal judge. Major news outlets keep letting Trump get away with calling Boasberg an ‘Obama Appointee’ (before the real trashing of him begins) but that’s misleading. James Boasberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Boasberg was originally appointed to the DC Superior Court by Bush 43, and named to the DC Circuit Court by Obama and is the Chief Judge. Oh, and Chief Justice John Roberts just so happens to have named him to the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2014. He was head of FISC from 2020-2021. In 2020 he was appointed to (and named Chief of) the Unites States Alien Terrorist Removal Court. When on behalf of DOGE the administration (and DOJ lawyers in court) tell the public and the court the judge doesn’t have the authority (despite long established precedents) or even credentials and clearances to hear a case about the deportations in question in this case they are lying. Fraud.
As you think about all that, think about this. This isn’t the only court and case where games of avoiding answering judge’s questions, changing arguments just trying to get the judge to leave them alone has gone on. But anything immigration related be it detentions or deportations involves ICE. Which means ICE is helping create and trying to sling the bullsh*t past judges in court. So again I say FRAUD.
Turning to the issue of abuse (as in government workers abusing their authority), where the hell do I start? Every day, just as in Trump’s first term there have been abuses, even atrocities committed by ICE. Of individuals, all the way down to infants in their mother’s arms. Of laws and even international treaties. Just ignoring the rule of law. Because Trump told them to. Now they are on a Trump approved “Roid Rage” to make up for four years of having one hand tied behind their back. I could spend the rest of the day looking up and citing examples of such abuses. But I don’t need to do I? You know it well enough already.
Let’s move on to financial waste – specifically in this initial wave of deportations. Bear in mind one of Trump’s few skills is media savvy and making a huge show of marching deportees on to military aircraft starting his first week back in office was something he played up ‘bigly.’ Red Meat for his MAGAs and all that. Here’s the problem, as Newsweek explained back on Jan. 31:
In the first week of Trump‘s second term, the Department of Homeland Security reported deporting about 7,300 people of various nationalities.
To carry out some of these deportations, the U.S. has deployed C-17 Globemaster III transport planes, which cost an estimated $28,500 per flight hour, a senior U.S. defense official told Newsweek.
The four deportation flights to guatemala came at a steep cost. the guatemalan government confirmed that a c-17 military transport plane landed on Monday with 54 deportees on board.
acconting for the per-hour operating cost, those expenses reached araound $4,675 per person-far exeeding the roughly $850 price of a first-class commercial ticket from el paso to guatemala city.
in contrast, deportation flights operated by u.s. immigration and customs enforcement (ice) which use boeing 7373 and mcdonnell douglas md-80 aircraft, cost about $630 per deportee.
That was only the beginning however. Before the administration finally stopped using military aircraft for deportation flights there were additional ones. That includes using an aircraft that costs upwards of $800k per flight hour! So take note of that part blocked out above on what it typically costs ICE to use aircraft for deportations. (Or the Marshall’s Service to fly prisoners around the country) The administration of course is furiously at work trying to hide just how much they BLEW on these much hyped publicity stunts but it’s got to be into the tens of millions. Has anyone at ICE been fired by DOGE who worked on this particular task? I rather doubt it. Hell, they probably got an ‘attaboy’ and maybe a bonus or unofficial paid leave! The point is some serious waste was in the works and if a few brave souls hadn’t convinced media bosses to let them report it, it would still be going on. A showy ‘Promises Kept’ distraction for MAGA nation.
So, we have this ‘sort of’ ‘unofficial’ but with very real authority to OFFICIALLY carry out actions ‘agency’ DOGE – who we are told is there to seek and root out “Waste, Fraud and Abuse” in the government. Get rid of what they claim HAVE to be literal hordes of bumbling, incompetent federal workers, workers who aren’t productive, who are always making mistakes and worst of all wasting taxpayer dollars. Yet to say it again no one at ICE seems to have gotten fired. Or at other agencies (looking at you DHS and DOJ) who’ve helped out.
Just why the hell major news outlets haven’t been all over this is easy to answer. They are too scared of Trump. And let’s face it, they have reporters in foreign countries which in some cases are dangerous places to be. A Trump State Dept. run by a weakling like Rubio has turned out to be won’t be jumping into the fray to help out reporters detained overseas if they go exposing Trump on this issue.
That means it falls to political blogs like this one to pressure Congress Critters to raise hell. To make it so that major news outlets can’t ignore this simple fact: Virtually ANYONE at ANY agency in Trump’s second administration is subject to summary firing, and having to expend a fortune in legal fees to get their job (and benefits including pension) back. Unless a person works for ICE!
I can’t, and won’t let that go. If it takes shaming big name journalists and pundits to start questioning this, and talking about it on news shows then so be it. I can only hope that some gutsy lawyer taking on DOJ in court in an immigration related case brings up DOGE and how it seems to be helping DOJ all while the very same DOGE is ignoring the waste, fraud and abuse at ICE. That’s the kind of thing that will carry legal weight in a courtroom. Including when some of this gets to SCOTUS. In the meantime, judges might be hesitant to toss actual federal employees of DOJ or agencies in the slammer for Contempt of Court but some DOGE person? Oh how I’d love to see U.S. Marshalls hook one of these little pricks up and march them into the courthouse! (For those who don’t regularly read my stuff I have weird fantasies like this)
In the meantime ICE can do whatever the hell it wants. DOGE will make like referees in some cheesy Championship Wrestling even refusing to look at rule-breaking going on despite how much the Manager of their poor wrestler getting stomped pointing and begging the ref to turn around and just look! But the ref knows damn well what’s going on, and only thinks about what they were paid to do which is the “see no evil, hear no evil” thing. So friends, once again I call on you to contact Congress Critters, and on social media sites ask journalists/pundits why ICE has been getting a PASS from DOGE.
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“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
Frank Wilhoit, 2018
Here is the perfect example.