The logo for The US Department of Homeland Security is seen at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) press conference in Washington, DC.
Via Getty Images
Violent encounters between federal immigration agents and civilians have placed government agencies under heightened scrutiny in recent weeks.
Following the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, both fatally shot by agents during immigration operations in Minneapolis, public scrutiny over the use of force by federal immigration officers has intensified. The shootings have triggered widespread protests and calls for accountability as officials and community members question how and why deadly force was used.
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A new report from The Associated Press points to additional cases involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors accused of criminal conduct. Since 2020, at least a dozen such cases have surfaced, including allegations of domestic violence, sexual assault and one instance in which an individual was accused of taking bribes to lift detention holds placed on people facing deportation.
The investigation found that most of those cases occurred before Congress approved President Donald Trump's so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill" last summer, which allocated $75 billion to expand hiring and increase detention capacity. Experts interviewed for the report cautioned that with the agency growing rapidly, and with concerns about a lack of accountability, misconduct could become more frequent, particularly if agents operate with a sense of impunity.
"Once a person is hired, brought on, goes through the training and they are not the right person, it is difficult to get rid of them and there will be a price to be paid later down the road by everyone," Gil Kerlikowske, who led U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, told The Associated Press.
The report also suggested that the authority immigration agents wield, often over vulnerable populations, combined with a perceived lack of consequences, can create conditions for abuse. Kerlikowske added that ICE officers may be especially "vulnerable to unnecessary use of force issues," because their operations frequently unfold in public settings amid protests.
The Associated Press found that at least 17 ICE employees and contractors have been convicted, with six more awaiting trial, while no additional charges have been filed over the past year. The report also noted that some of the most serious offenses involved veteran employees and supervisors rather than recent hires.
In one case cited in the investigation, a former senior official at an ICE-contracted detention facility in Texas received probation Feb. 4 after admitting he grabbed a handcuffed detainee by the neck and slammed him against a wall last year.
In another case in December, an ICE contractor pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a detainee at a Louisiana facility. Prosecutors said the contractor engaged in sexual acts with a Nicaraguan national over a five-month span in 2025 and directed other detainees to serve as lookouts.
The report also detailed corruption allegations within the agency. In Houston, an ICE deportation officer was indicted last summer on accusations that he repeatedly took cash bribes from bail bondsmen in exchange for removing immigration detainers placed on their clients.
ICE said the officer was indefinitely suspended in May 2024, ahead of his arrest a year later. He has pleaded not guilty to seven bribery counts and was released while awaiting trial.
As criticism of federal immigration agencies continues to mount, particularly toward enforcement officers, Trump administration officials have pushed back on claims of widespread misconduct.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said wrongdoing within ICE is not widespread and that the agency "takes allegations of misconduct by its employees extremely seriously," adding that many new hires previously served in other law enforcement roles and undergo thorough background checks.
"America can be proud of the professionalism our officers bring to the job day-in and day-out," she said.
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Tags: ICE, Immigration raids, United States, Dhs