ICE Sues Itself? Media Demands Answers For State-Sanctioned Violence
Mainstream outlets like The Hill are reporting on Chicago news organizations suing ICE over alleged excessive force against journalists covering Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. This story frames the issue as journalists simply seeking 'answers,' conveniently sidestepping the systemic nature of law enforcement violence against protesters and the press. The federal government, under both
Republican and Democratic administrations, has consistently deployed militarized forces to quash dissent, blurring the lines between domestic policing and military action (recall Portland, 2020, and DHS's urban deployments). One might almost laugh imagining ICE agents reading the lawsuit, then deploying the same tactics. The 'alleged excessive force' is a feature, not a bug, of agencies like ICE
and DHS, whose budgets soared post-9/11 with broad mandates and minimal oversight. The First Amendment protects the press, yet every major protest sees reporters targeted. Perhaps these news organizations should sue for punitive damages, and redirect the funds to independent media, who never had the luxury of calling state violence 'alleged.'