The Trump administration is conducting a sweeping overhaul of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with more than a dozen senior officials in various cities being replaced by officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). At the heart of this effort is Greg Bovino, commander-at-large of the Border Patrol, who is currently the public face of the Trump administration's current interior enforcement surges. But what's unfolding under Bovino isn't law enforcement. It's political stagecraft directed from Washington, not the field.
Under Bovino's command, the Department of Homeland Security has assembled something new: a hybrid, unaccountable task force reporting directly to DHS headquarters and the White House and operating outside the traditional command structures that govern federal law enforcement. It isn't ICE. It isn't CBP. It's a Frankenstein force, stitched together from multiple agencies but loyal to none. Its purpose is to create a community response designed for social media clicks, rather than to keep communities safe.
The recent wave of ICE senior official reassignments makes the motive behind this new structure unmistakable: It's about control, not competence.
This is a preview of Jason Houser's latest column. Read the full column here. |
