{"id":59954,"date":"2025-08-11T20:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T20:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/59954\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T20:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T20:23:08","slug":"john-oliver-on-ices-crackdown-trying-to-drive-up-arrests-at-all-costs-john-oliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/59954\/","title":{"rendered":"John Oliver on Ice\u2019s crackdown: \u2018Trying to drive up arrests at all costs\u2019 | John Oliver"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Oliver<\/a> took a hard look at Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> (Ice) on the latest Last Week Tonight, as more and more videos of Ice raids across US cities<\/a> continue to show a brutal crackdown<\/a> on undocumented people. \u201cFor all the administration\u2019s talk of targeting dangerous criminals, the reality is very different,\u201d Oliver started.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration<\/a> has set a goal of deporting one million people a year, \u201cwhich, it\u2019s worth noting, would be more than double the previous record of 400,000 when Obama was president, which was already very high\u201d, said Oliver. \u201cBut notably, they don\u2019t seem to be getting near their target numbers.\u201d As of taping, the administration had deported about 280,000 people, \u201cso getting to a million in just six months seems very unlikely\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they have backed themselves into this corner, because \u2018promising\u2019 to deport a million criminal migrants is one thing, but once you\u2019re in charge, you then have to find that many of them,\u201d he continued, \u201cwhich is going to be hard if they don\u2019t exist in the numbers that you\u2019re claiming, which they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like promising to apprehend 10,000 Fred Dursts a day,\u201d he added. \u201cThere just aren\u2019t that many out there, so either you have to admit that your target number was bullshit in the first place or you have to drastically widen your definition of what a Fred Durst is until you\u2019re eventually arresting any gen X-er wearing a hat.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut instead of conceding their numbers were inflated, the administration is trying to drive up arrests at all costs.\u201d The Trump aide Stephen Miller has instructed Ice agents to target Home Depots<\/a> and 7-Elevens, and the agency has rapidly deputized a record number of local police to function as deportation agents. They have brought in border patrol as well as the national guard; at least a quarter of the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s workforce; 80% of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and even members of the US Postal Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis mass reallocation of resources means that other crimes are going less policed,\u201d Oliver explained. The FBI, for example, has instructed agents to prioritize immigration enforcement at the expense of white-collar crime and investigations into sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gotta say: for a guy who pandered so heavily to people convinced pedophiles, sex offenders and traffickers had infiltrated our government, Trump\u2019s sure making the government a lot friendlier to them,\u201d said Oliver. \u201cGhislaine Maxwell\u2019s in a nicer cell<\/a> now, Lawrence Taylor\u2019s advising on kids\u2019 physical fitness. Fuck it, at this point, if he\u2019s willing to wear a Maga hat, I really don\u2019t see why Roman Polanski can\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, \u201cborder czar\u201d Tom Homan claimed that 70% of those arrested by Ice were criminals, while the other 30% were national security threats who \u201cdon\u2019t have a criminal history because they try to lay low until it\u2019s time for them to do things bad\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder his logic, I guess anyone could be a national security threat,\u201d said Oliver. But \u201cHoman\u2019s numbers are also nowhere near Ice\u2019s own data,\u201d which found that only 40% of those arrested had any criminal history, including traffic infractions, and just 7% were convicted of any sort of violent crime. In fact, as of June, people with only civil or immigration violations \u2013 no criminal convictions \u2013 made up the largest percentage of arrests nationwide. \u201cMaybe the clearest sign that this is more about pushing up numbers than catching violent criminals on the run is that one of the key places where they\u2019re now fishing for arrests is immigration court<\/a>, where people show up for their hearings,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As numerous videos showed, Ice agents arrested people who showed up to process their situation legally, using a loophole that allows the government to deport people without due process if their immigration case is dismissed. \u201cIt is the laziest possible way to juice up your numbers,\u201d said Oliver, \u201cbecause you\u2019re targeting people who are going through the system \u2018in the right way\u2019 and turning them into people you can immediately arrest and deport.\u201d<\/p>\n

This trap was among \u201cthings the administration is doing that sure feel like they\u2019re breaking the law\u201d but \u201coften aren\u2019t\u201d. Oliver took the \u201cdystopian visual\u201d of Ice agents wearing masks, which is actually legal, as no federal law prevents it. \u201cSo they can do it, but why are they?\u201d The administration claims that it\u2019s for their own protection, with the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, including videotaping arrests as an act of \u201cviolence\u201d against agents.<\/p>\n

All of this \u201cgets even more worrying\u201d when one remembers that Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill Act contains a huge surge of funding<\/a> for immigration enforcement \u2013 roughly $170bn over the next few years, some of which is set aside for the hiring of 10,000 new Ice agents. \u201cFor what it\u2019s worth, massive rapid hiring sprees never tend to work out well,\u201d Oliver noted. Past efforts to bolster Customs and Border Protection under George Bush ended up with hiring drug cartel members and an actual serial killer. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not a great sign for who Ice is appealing to that they\u2019re currently posting gross recruitment ads, like this fake minivan ad<\/a> tagged: \u2018Think about how many criminal illegal aliens you could fit in this bad boy!\u2019\u201d he added. \u201cAnd they seem more than a little desperate already, as they\u2019ve already removed age limits for hiring agents.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this past week, Ice shared a video of their newest recruit: former Superman actor Dean Cain<\/a>. \u201cYou know, there\u2019s an old saying in Hollywood: \u2018If all you can get is Dean Cain, you are fucked,\u2019\u201d Oliver joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I\u2019m not saying that Ice isn\u2019t finding people,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m just saying, when you are reduced to pinning a badge on the 59-year-old star of The Dog Who Saved Christmas, The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, The Dog Who Saved the Holidays, The Dog Who Saved Halloween, The Dog Who Saved Easter and The Dog Who Saved Summer, maybe you are in trouble. Although, on the plus side, no need for that guy to wear a mask because the chances of anyone recognizing him are fucking zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what can be done? \u201cAs powerless as this can feel, as individuals there are still actions you can take,\u201d said Oliver, such as recording any arrest you witness involving Ice agents. Oliver also advised that if you\u2019re approached by Ice agents, whether or not you\u2019re a citizen, \u201cattorneys told us the only two things you should say to them are: \u2018Am I free to leave?\u2019 And: \u2018I want to speak to a lawyer.\u2019 That\u2019s it. You have the right to remain silent. And I recognize that in some cases you may be unable to help yourself from saying: \u2018Didn\u2019t you used to be Superman?\u2019 \u2018I thought you died.\u2019 \u2018I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m meeting a film-maker.\u2019 But that really is it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still in a very grim moment,\u201d he added. \u201cThe rightwing narrative is that most people are rabid to punish anyone who wants to become new Americans. But that is just not true,\u201d as new polls found 80% support a pathway to legal citizenship for undocumented immigrants. \u201cNor are their bullshit claims about who\u2019s being targeted and arrested.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m not saying that everything Ice is doing right now is illegal,\u201d he concluded. \u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is, a whole bunch of it feels like it really should be. And we need to change that at our earliest opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n