With the outrage on both political sides about opposing issues, it is safe to say Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) is not an inherently political issue, it is a human rights issue.

It is normal for a politician (such as former President Barack Obama) to deport illegal immigrants during their time in office, considering due process, but it is not normal for them to do what President Donald Trump is doing right now. It is not a crime to immigrate and no human deserves to be attacked, assaulted or killed. We are all human beings. ICE agents are immoral.

Students, along with civilians, must acknowledge their right to protest and their freedom of speech. Through intimidation and promises of violence, Trump and his administration are invoking fear. This is intentional, with the hope that no one will stand up to him and his ICE agents. ICE agents can try to silence you, but legally, they are not supposed to.

Throughout history, protests have been proven to create and enforce change. Why, in 2025, are protests not expected? No one should be punished for protest and for defending themselves against authority, because let’s face it: authority can be and is frequently wrong.

ICE is not the equivalent to police officers or the military. In fact, depending on the police officer, most (as they should want to) are hesitant to draw their weapons, unless it is clear they are under physical threat or attack.

Reported deaths in ICE custody in 2025 were 31 to 46 and eight confirmed deaths from shootings by ICE agents. While there is no data for 2026 yet, citizen Renee Good was shot in the face for leaving a dangerous scene and not opening her car door for a masked man with a gun. Nurse and U.S. citizen Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis in January. His killing got media coverage, with conflicting accounts and recollections.

Greg Bovino, the U.S Border Patrol commander, said agents had been carrying out a targeted immigration enforcement operation when Pretti approached agents with a semi-automatic handgun. He defended the officer that killed Pretti by saying he “fired defensive shots.”

Videos from the moments before Pretti was murdered show him filming agents with his phone, no gun visible. From a different angle, an agent is shown pushing a woman and then putting his arm around her. He then pushes another woman, at the same time Pretti reaches his arm out and stands between them. The agent goes on to spray a substance in Pretti’s eyes, Pretti lifts his open hand in the air, clutching a phone and still no gun is visible. The agent grabs Pretti by the arm and six agents get on top of him forcing him to the ground. From there, he is struck in the head by an agent and then an agent pulls back a gun. The agent standing next to him begins to fire and reportedly 10 gunshots go off. This act was one of the worst things to watch.

On video record, we have seen ICE detain small children, spray pepper spray into a family’s car, harming a baby and blinding a 21 year old man by firing a pepper ball round directly into his eye.

After consuming this media and eye witness accounts of unprovoked violence and anger, protest is not unwarranted and is rightful.

Locally, as seen in Syracuse.Com, a man was arrested after throwing a severed deer head at anti- Trump protesters in Syracuse. The protest was peaceful. It is not unlawful to peacefully protest worldwide injustices, in fact it is the most lawful thing one can do.

The irony is not lost on me that with current events, Trump supporters have complained about a Puerto Rican man performing at the Super Bowl, but expect no outrage to come from watching human beings get harassed and murdered.

Arguably, ICE as an organization in itself is protestable. In January, journalist and U.S. Army veteran Laura Jedeed reported that she was offered a job as an ICE officer after a six minute interview at a hiring expo in Texas, with no background check, drug and alcohol testing or real application on Jedeed. Jedeed was shocked that she was hired so easily.

This system is corrupt considering the organization itself is allowing people without proper vetting, such as people with criminal backgrounds, potential addictions, or a general lack of qualification, to hold weapons and positions of power. Something has to change and the greatest form of change comes from the use of your voice.