Letitia James Investigates ICE, Not the System Creating It
The Hill reports AG James's new initiative, allowing New Yorkers to document alleged ICE misconduct. This move positions James as a champion of immigrant rights, focusing on the actions of individual agents. (A classic move to deflect from systemic issues.) But what mainstream outlets like The Hill won't spotlight is the consistent, bipartisan funding that builds the very enforcement
infrastructure James now scrutinizes. In 2023 alone, the Biden administration requested $28.3 billion for Homeland Security, with significant portions earmarked for border enforcement, detention, and deportation operations. This isn't some rogue agency; this is a deeply entrenched federal behemoth, funded by the very politicians who then performatively criticize its agents. (It's almost as if the
right hand knows exactly what the left hand is doing, and both are reaching for more budget.) So, while New Yorkers dutifully submit their smartphone footage, one might wonder: where's the portal for exposing the legislative and financial decisions that empower ICE in the first place? It's easier to chase individual agents than to confront the political will that sustains the entire, often brutal,
system. How many billions of taxpayer dollars flow annually into an immigration enforcement apparatus, only for its effects to be lamented by the same political class that approves its budget? It appears accountability stops precisely where the campaign donations start.