ICE Agents Are Even Worse At Being Cops Than You Think |
For decades, American law enforcement has carefully cultivated an image of tactical prowess and professionalism. Police have worked hand in hand with Hollywood and PR firms to portray officers as highly trained, disciplined, and infallible — from “Dragnet”-era TV shows shaped by LAPD advisers to today’s consultants who polish police press releases. The goal was to earn public trust and political capital by presenting cops as consummate pros who never miss a step. Modern police departments see public perception as something not so much earned but managed through media strategy, with the hope that a shiny image of competence will justify their aggressive tactics (and budgets).
But that carefully crafted myth is slipping and falling on its ass — quite literally. In Minnesota, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent chasing protesters on a winter street slipped on literal ice and wiped out hard, a clip so perfectly symbolic it feels like satire, except it’s real. This video and other incidents featuring ICE agents bungling basic police work have deflated these efforts to project unflinching competence.
The humiliation was so instant that it went viral, with outlets treating the public’s mockery as a story in itself — publishing roundups of the “hilarious reactions” to our own dystopian reality as comedy, rather than an armed and deadly federal agency spiraling in front of its citizens. Instead of the steely-eyed heroes ICE promotes in its recruitment materials and PR spectacles, we’re left with slapstick pratfalls and blunders. It would be hilarious if it weren’t also so dangerous.
Slapstick on the Streets
ICE has been going viral for its Keystone Cops routines nearly since Donald Trump infused billions of immigration enforcement dollars into DHS and its subagencies last summer. In October, a TikTok from Whittier, California, shows an ICE team attempt to detain a handcuffed man, who promptly breaks free and takes off. Two agents give chase, huffing behind him, until one officer’s legs give out, unintentionally ending the operation on the pavement. The agent crashes hard to the ground mid-chase and clutches his knee while the handcuffed man vanishes around a corner. Bystanders can be heard cheering the escapee, even urging him to “Keep going!” The ICE officer, decked out in tactical gear, eventually hobbles away, his dignity (and probably ligaments) in tatters.
Weeks earlier, another ICE operation-turned-gaffe ended with guns drawn. In Prince George’s County, Maryland, bystanders captured video of an ICE agent in a chaotic struggle in the middle of a........