At least in theory, the U.S. is a country where laws are supposed to matter. But if you’ve been paying much attention lately, you can’t help but notice that Immigration and Customs Enforcement hasn’t paid much attention to those pesky laws while terrorizing Minneapolis. It also looks like things may be even more chaotic behind the scenes than you may have thought, with Wired reporting that at least 31 ICE vehicles are currently operating in the Twin Cities, even though they “currently lack the necessary emergency lights and sirens” they need to be “compliant with law enforcement requirements.”
Wired also probably wouldn’t have learned this if ICE hadn’t tried to fix the issue by having the vehicles retrofitted, which meant publishing a contract justification in a federal register. According to the document, ICE plans to spend $47,330.49 to have the Connecticut-based Whelen Engineering Company add “emergency warning and lighting technology” to at least 31 vehicles. Those kits would “allow vehicles to be immediately operational and compliant with law enforcement requirements to support the current surge operation” in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Homeland Security Investigations’ St. Paul office also operates in North and South Dakota.
The document also makes it clear that they knew these vehicles weren’t compliant, saying plainly, “These vehicles were deployed prior to being permanently retrofitted and currently lack the necessary emergency lights and sirens required for operational use.” That said, it also attempts to justify the use of these noncompliant vehicles, citing “the time-sensitive nature of the mission” and claiming that waiting to deploy them “would negatively impact operational readiness, law enforcement officer safety, and public safety.”
No regard for the law
Considering it’s only been a week since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good, and her shooting marks the 13th time immigration agents have opened fire on someone’s vehicle since July, news that ICE isn’t dotting its Is and crossing its Ts probably feels like table stakes. And, ultimately, that’s probably the correct take. It’s also not like U.S. law enforcement only recently began targeting protesters, bystanders, and activists with unnecessary violence.
Kent State comes to mind immediately, even though that was Ohio’s National Guard acting in a law enforcement role, and who could forget the Philadelphia MOVE bombing that killed 11 people, including five children, and caused a fire that burned more than 60 other homes? There’s a long history here that didn’t start with Trump and likely won’t end with him, unless we make some serious changes in this country.
That said, the document is further proof that ICE is currently operating outside of even Homeland Security’s own regulations:
HSI’s most recent public handbook for agents conducting “emergency driving”—defined as driving during “official duties,” like low- or high-risk pursuits, that may require breaking speed limits or violating certain traffic laws—appears to have been published in 2012. It says that any HSI vehicles without lights and sirens “may not be used” in emergency driving, unless the officer “is conducting surveillance or is responding to an event that may adversely impact or threaten life, health, or property or requires an immediate law enforcement response.”
The handbook adds that if an HSI officer is emergency driving but their vehicle does not have lights or sirens, they “must terminate” their participation in a law enforcement operation, and an officer from another law enforcement agency that does have lights and sirens should take over. This HSI officer “may continue to assist in a backup role, if necessary.”
ICE is also operating in violation of Minnesota state law, which requires vehicles used by law enforcement to have both a siren and at least one red light up front. Whether anyone with any authority will actually do something about this remains to be seen, but after the way Republicans circled the wagons to protect Ross from even facing an investigation into the shooting, maybe don’t get your hopes up.
