When ICE Becomes the Face of a Wider Legitimacy Crisis

Image by Colin Lloyd.

Why has ICE become a national flashpoint even for people who are not at immediate risk of deportation? The answer isn’t simply immigration policy. It is legitimacy. Under this administration, enforcement has become a public language of governance—highly visible, often forceful, and paired with thinner transparency and weaker restraint.

Start with what ICE says it is. ICE describes its mission as enforcing immigration laws and conducting criminal investigations...