Kimi | Seamus Culleton ICE Detention

Add to this the masking and lack of identification of ICE, the entry into homes without a judicial warrant and the massive recruitment of new officers, the shooting of American citizens it seems that ICE is turning into a paramilitary secret police. Or am I exaggerating?

ICE agents masks no identification 2025 ICE warrantless home entries 2025 ICE recruitment surge new officers 2025 ICE shooting American citizens ICE paramilitary tactics concerns

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Based on the extensive documentation from recent reports, you are not exaggerating. The evidence suggests ICE is undergoing a transformation that aligns with paramilitary and secret police characteristics, with multiple overlapping concerning patterns:

1. Masking and Lack of Identification

Systematic concealment of identity:

ICE agents routinely wear masks and face coverings that obscure identification, sparking legislation at federal and state levels to ban the practice
California's "No Secret Police Act" (SB 627), signed September 2025, explicitly prohibits federal and local law enforcement from wearing ski masks—described by State Sen. Scott Wiener as preventing confusion between "law enforcement" and "the guy in the ski mask robbing a liquor store"
Similar bills introduced in Illinois and federally (VISIBLE Act) to require visible agency and name/badge number display
DHS defends masking citing 800% increase in attacks against ICE officials in 2025, but critics note this creates conditions where "individuals impersonating ICE officers" cannot be distinguished from real agents
Sen. Tim Kaine described the confusion: "They were confused because the ICE agents were wearing masks and were not wearing anything that identified themselves as ICE agents. So, is this a gang, are these kidnappers, are these rogue agents?"

2. Warrantless Home Entries

Direct violation of Fourth Amendment protections:

A May 2025 memo signed by ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons authorized agents to forcibly enter homes using only administrative warrants (Form I-205)—internal documents signed by ICE officers themselves, not judges
This represents an explicit reversal of longstanding constitutional practice where only judicial warrants permit home entry
The memo was distributed secretly—shown only to "select DHS officials" who verbally briefed others, with some agents forced to read and return it without keeping copies
Documented incidents:
- U.S. citizen ChongLy "Scott" Thao in St. Paul: Masked agents broke into his home, held him at gunpoint in underwear/sandals, realized they had the wrong house, left without apology
- Garrison Gibson in Minneapolis: Agents used battering ram and rifles with only administrative warrant; federal judge later ruled arrest unconstitutional and ordered release
- Law professor Mark Graber: "The Bill of Rights, we thought, were the first 10 amendments... I guess now we're down to nine"

3. Massive Recruitment Surge

Unprecedented expansion with reduced standards:

ICE workforce doubled from 10,000 to 22,000 in less than a year (2025)
220,000 applications processed with $50,000 signing bonuses and removal of age caps
Training compressed from 16 weeks to 6-8 weeks, with some recruits deployed before completing vetting or training due to AI screening errors
Recruitment materials described as "wartime recruitment" featuring bomber jets, tactical gear, military imagery, and ads targeting "audiences with interests in guns, tactical gear and military culture"
One ad: "Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys? Think about how many illegals you could fit in this bad boy!"
Retired ICE supervisor Oscar Hagelsieb (Trump voter) expressed concern: "You're pushing this agenda that you're doing it … to repel these invaders... This isn't combat"

4. Shootings of American Citizens

Pattern of lethal force with questionable justification:

Since September 2025, 13 people shot by ICE/Border Patrol during immigration operations :

January 7, 2026: ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good (37) in Minneapolis. Good was in parked SUV; officers claimed she attempted to ram them, but video showed she reversed briefly then moved forward away from officers when Ross fired three times into her chest and head
January 24, 2026: Border Patrol agents shot U.S. citizen Alex Pretti at least 10 times in Minneapolis. DHS claimed he had firearm with two magazines; video analysis confirmed he was holding a phone. Civilians protested; federal forces used flashbang grenades to disperse them
October 4, 2025: ICE agent shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez five times, claimed she was "armed with a semi-automatic weapon" (not mentioned in charges), charges later dismissed
Pattern: Agents claim "self-defense" or "ramming" justification, but evidence often contradicts official narratives

5. The Paramilitary/Secret Police Framework

These elements combine to create a force with characteristics of both paramilitary organizations and secret police:

Table

Copy

Paramilitary Traits	Secret Police Traits
Military-style recruitment ("wartime")	Masked, unidentifiable agents
Tactical gear and weaponry	Secret internal memos overriding law
Compressed training emphasizing force	Warrantless home invasions
Quota-driven arrest targets (75/day per office)	No accountability for wrong-house raids
Use of force against citizens	Impunity for constitutional violations

The Structural Impunity

The system is designed to prevent accountability:

No independent prosecution: DOJ (same executive branch) would need to prosecute ICE agents
Qualified immunity shields civil liability
Sovereign immunity blocks suits against the government
Masked agents cannot be identified for complaints
Secret policies (like the May 2025 memo) are hidden from public and congressional oversight until whistleblowers leak them
Judicial orders ignored: As in Culleton's case—bond approved and paid, then denied by officials

Conclusion

Your characterization is analytically accurate, not exaggerated. The convergence of:

Concealed identities
Warrantless entry authorization
Rapid militarized expansion
Lethal force against citizens
Systemic impunity
Quota-driven enforcement

...creates an entity that operates outside constitutional constraints, beyond judicial oversight, and without public accountability—the defining characteristics of paramilitary secret police. The fact that this is happening to U.S. citizens (Good, Pretti, Thao) and legal residents (Culleton) demonstrates that the targeting extends beyond undocumented immigrants, which is historically typical of secret police formations that eventually expand their scope beyond original mandates.

The "secret" nature is particularly evident in the classified internal memo that ICE lawyers reportedly advised against, which was distributed through verbal briefings only and required returning copies—suggesting awareness that the policy was legally indefensible .