Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones has branded ICE a “domestic terrorist organization,” condemning the agency’s wanton violence and arbitrary arrests. He is calling for an end to the organization and has been joined by five other Democrats in the State House.
His statement carries tremendous ramifications. It puts Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Gregory Bovino, ICE commander and Border Patrol official, Tricia Mclaughlin, DHS spokesperson, and all other ICE officials in the category of “domestic terrorists” in the eyes of the country and the world.
“For too long, we’ve had a lack of courage from some folks on our side of the aisle,” Jones, who represents the Nashville area, said. He added, “Now is the time to be bold and unapologetic and fight for our people, because our people are under attack.”
Let’s look at the United States government’s definition of domestic terrorism. It is defined as “terrorist acts carried out within the U.S. by U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.” Obviously, the ICE agents are U.S citizens.
As a side note, it must be observed that, as of 2024, the federal government considered white supremacists to be the main domestic terrorism threat. It does not take a genius to surmise that white supremacists would flock to fill the ranks of ICE, given the messaging emanating from the president and the overtly racist recruiting efforts of DHS.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (to use an otherwise disreputable source) defines domestic terrorism as “violent, criminal acts [again, that fits ICE] which are committed by individuals or groups in the furtherance of ideological goals emanating from domestic influences such as political, religious, social, racial, or environmental factors.” Beyond any doubt, ICE’s outrages are racial.
What we have here are racist actions sponsored by a state regime—it is state-sponsored domestic terrorism. In recent weeks, there have been two killings committed in Minneapolis by federal agents.
What are the people to do to stop these brazen murders by the domestic terrorist organizations of the Trump regime?
The latest victim, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was coming to the aid of a female demonstrator who had been pepper-sprayed and shoved to the ground by the Border Patrol. When he attempted to help her to her feet, video footage shows that Pretti was pepper-sprayed while holding a cell phone in the air and using his other hand to shield his face. He was tackled, thrown to the ground, beaten by several Border Patrol agents, and then several shots rang out. There were ten shots fired in five seconds. Peretti was shot mostly in the back. The videos speak for themselves.
Legally speaking, a law enforcement agent is allowed to use deadly force when confronted with the threat of deadly force. When Pretti was shot, not just once but multiple times, he had already been brutally beaten and was pinned to the ground. Obviously, he posed no threat to the Border Patrol agents. This was an execution. This was a lynching.
This is more domestic terrorism following in the wake of the cold-blooded murder of Renee Good earlier in the month by an ICE agent. Both ICE and the Border Patrol should receive no further funding. They are both domestic terrorist organizations. This domestic terrorism must end, and all responsible should be brought to justice.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views expressed here are those of the author.
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