Amnesty International urges abolition of ICE after 168-page report alleging systemic rights violations

# What Amnesty found

Amnesty International released a 168-page report after investigating ICE operations in Chicago, Minneapolis–St. Paul, New Orleans and Washington, DC. The organization concluded that officers in each city relied on racial profiling and made arbitrary arrests based on race, skin color, ethnicity or national origin. The report documents repeated use of excessive force, unlawful killings, mass surveillance, inhumane detention conditions and inadequate investigations of reported violations.

# How Amnesty explains the causes

The report attributes these problems to institutional and administration-wide factors rather than isolated misconduct by individual agents. Amnesty says recent policy changes expanded agents' authority and created an environment that encouraged more aggressive enforcement. Specific factors cited in the report include the lifting of prohibitions on arrests at so-called sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals, and a broader push to criminally charge illegal entry under 8 U.S.C. § 1325.

Amnesty also points to recent legislation that changes detention requirements. The report references the Laken Riley Act, signed in the first month of the second Trump term, which mandates detention of people unlawfully present in the US who have been charged, arrested or convicted for a range of low-level offenses including burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.

# Surveillance and intimidation tactics described

Researchers documented expanded use of surveillance technology and aviation assets. The report names facial recognition systems, helicopters and drones among the tools deployed. It describes tactics where federal agents, often aided by databases, identify and expose individuals involved in rapid response or community support efforts — for example, tracking a person's residence and directing responders there as a form of intimidation.

# Detention conditions, due process, and deportation practices

Amnesty reports inhumane conditions in detention centers and claims rushed deportation proceedings with minimal notice or hearing. The organization raises concerns about cruel and unusual punishment and the denial of due process for detainees.

# Fatal incidents cited

The report examines specific lethal encounters during large-scale ICE operations. It discusses the killing of Silverio Villegas González during an operation in Chicago and the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during operations in Minneapolis. Amnesty frames these incidents as part of a broader pattern in which federal agents used force in situations where individuals did not pose an imminent threat.

# Amnesty's recommendation

# Immediate context and broader implications

The report was released amid heightened attention to immigration enforcement practices, including recent shootings and deaths linked to federal agents. Amnesty links the enforcement tactics it documents to political and legal shifts that broadened ICE's powers and to a law enforcement approach that the organization says has spilled over into suppressing protest and intimidating communities.