Will ICE Get Away With This?

"Back in October, when Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker objected to having more federal immigration officers in his state, the deputy chief of staff and dominant West Wing voice had a message in response. "To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties, and anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony," he said on Fox News."

"It declined to open an investigation into the shooting, and said it would be sending hundreds more ICE officers into the state; then it pushed to instead initiate an investigation into Renee Good's widow. The we-have-your-back attitude, says our staff writer Nick Miroff, who covers immigration, undoubtedly emboldens ICE. It sends "a signal to continue to do what they're doing, to not give any ground to protesters or to public officials in Minnesota," Nick says."

"This week, six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned reportedly because of the Justice Department's push to investigate Good's widow, but not Ross. States and the federal government have historically fought over holding each other's agents accountable, and states have not always lost. In this week's episode, we talk to Bryna Godar, an attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She studies the power that states have to hold federal officers such as Ross accountable."

Stephen Miller publicly asserted that ICE officers have federal immunity in the conduct of their duties. After ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed protester Renee Good, the administration declined to open an investigation into the shooting and instead sought to investigate Good's widow while sending more ICE officers into Minnesota. That stance is said to embolden ICE and discourage protesters or local officials from intervening. Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota reportedly resigned over Justice Department investigative priorities. Legal scholars examine the extent to which states can hold federal officers accountable and whether ICE is expanding its role beyond immigration enforcement.

Read at The Atlantic