Is ICE a Paramilitary Force and Donald Trumps " Personal Army"? Responding to Abdul El‑Sayed’s Claim Today

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed said today that ICE is “unconstitutional” and acts as a “paramilitary force of thugs” for President Donald Trump. That accusation is not only extreme, it ignores what ICE actually is, why it exists, and how long it has been enforcing the laws Congress passed.

Before you buy into the spin, let's look at some facts.

ICE was created in 2003 by Congress after 9/11. It has operated under four presidents, including President Barack Obama, who used the agency extensively. No one called it a paramilitary force then. It was simply a federal law‑enforcement agency doing the job the law requires: enforcing immigration statutes inside the United States. Obama deported more than 3 million people that were here illegally when he was president and in 74% of the cases, no hearing was ever held as they were processed through expedited procedures. Let that sink in.

Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin, these are lives cut short because the system failed to enforce the law during the Biden administration and there are many more.

Calling ICE a “private army” doesn’t just distort reality, it fuels a narrative that undermines the very enforcement mechanisms meant to prevent more families from experiencing these losses. When rhetoric paints law‑enforcement officers as enemies, it becomes harder to carry out the basic functions of public safety. And it invites more hostility toward the people tasked with enforcing the laws every administration, including Obama’s, relied on.

This week, California lawmakers are moving towards passing Assembly Bill 1627 (AB 1627) which would blacklist anyone who works for ICE between 2025 and 2029 from ever becoming a peace officer in California and bars them from teaching in public schools or working anywhere in the UC system. In other words, Californians who enforce federal law would be punished for life for doing their jobs.

This is what happens when rhetoric replaces reality. Calling ICE a “paramilitary force” doesn’t just distort the truth it fuels hostility toward law‑enforcement officers. It also ignores the fact that ICE existed long before Donald Trump returned to office and will continue to exist as long as Congress requires immigration laws to be enforced.

Abolishing it or blacklisting the people who work for it does nothing to protect the public. It only makes it harder to prevent the next preventable loss.