Picture: Masked federal immigration officers take the elevator at immigration court in Manhattan. David Dee Delgado/Reuters
We Must Not Let Federal Muscle Replace Community-Oriented Policing
When Federal Agents Wear Masks and Camouflage and Why It Matters
President Trump promised the largest deportation operation in American history. He said he was removing “murderers, rapists, and drug dealers” off our nation’s streets. According to the Cato Institute, “65 Percent of People Taken by ICE Had No Convictions, 93 Percent No Violent Convictions.” In fact, the overwhelming majority deportations are NOT dangerous criminals. They are people we know, have worked with, live in our neighborhoods and wish to become citizens of our nation.
Now we’re watching what that looks like on American streets — not just at the border, but in the heart of cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, and New York.
Federal immigration units — including Border Patrol, ICE tactical teams, and even military-style National Guard units — are carrying out aggressive raids and crowd-control operations well beyond traditional immigration enforcement. This includes agents in camouflage firing pepper balls, tear gas, and rubber munitions at protesters; rappelling from Black Hawk helicopters into apartment buildings; and conducting warrantless vehicle stops more than 400 miles from an international border.
Let’s be clear: these are not urban police units trained in community protection and crowd de-escalation. These are border interdiction officers, military-style rapid response units, and masked federal teams — many without clearly visible badges or agency identification.
Training Mismatch Meets Mission Creep
Former DHS and CBP leaders warn that the current deployment strategy is not simply enforcement — it is mission drift. Border Patrol agents, trained for rural interdictions and tactical migration control, are now policing protests and densely populated neighborhoods.
One former CBP Commissioner said bluntly: “These officers are not accustomed to policing urban civil unrest; nor are they trained to do so.”
That should concern anyone who cares about proportionality, restraint, and constitutional policing.
Civilian Communities Are Not a Battlefield
Images now define this moment:
- A pastor shot in the head with a pepper ball from a rooftop
- Masked agents tackling people outside courthouses
- Tactical boats — normally used on the Great Lakes against smugglers — patrolling the Chicago River
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said it plainly: “ICE is causing this mayhem.”
Agents counter that they face doxxing and threats. But anonymity and militarized posture are dangerous precedents in civilian space. Anonymous force is exactly what founders feared when they drafted an oath not to a ruler — but to the Constitution.
Policing Requires Trust — Not Shock and Awe
Policing is not domination. It is legitimacy, restraint, and consent of the governed.
Urban police chiefs know this. Local sheriffs know this. Ask anyone who has had to keep cities safe without losing the moral authority to do so.
Federal agencies claim they are using “minimum force.” The evidence on the ground tells another story.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The question is not whether immigration law should be enforced. The question is how — and whether the methods used today are eroding the public trust we all rely on tomorrow.
When tactical power replaces constitutional policing, democracy weakens. When force substitutes for consent, liberty shrinks.
Police leaders — especially chiefs and sheriffs — must speak now. Silence is complicity.
Good policing protects both community safety and freedom. Anything less is not the way to police a constitutional democracy. Period.
Picture: A federal agent prepares to throw a tear gas canister at community members during clashes in Chicago. Jim Vondruska/Reuters
Picture: Rev. David Black is shot in the head with a pepper ball by ICE agents who were on the roof of the Broadview facility near Chicago. Kelly Hayes
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 