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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Noel King: And I'm Noel King.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You've probably seen the hashtag #AbolishICE trending on social media, but what exactly does ICE do? And what would happen if it were abolished? We're joined by Dara Lind, an immigration reporter here at Vox.
--:-- Dara Lind: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, let's start with the basics. What is ICE, and how did it come to be?
--:-- Dara Lind: Well, ICE was created in the wake of 9/11, as part of the Department of Homeland Security. It was supposed to be a more efficient way to enforce immigration laws, but it's ended up being a lot more than that.
--:-- Noel King: I think a lot of people are confused about what ICE does. Can you break it down for us?
--:-- Dara Lind: Sure. So, ICE is responsible for enforcing immigration laws inside the United States. That means they're in charge of deporting people who are in the country without permission, as well as investigating and prosecuting immigration crimes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, that makes sense. But what about the Border Enforcement Agency that Mitch McConnell mentioned? Is that the same thing as ICE?
--:-- Dara Lind: No, it's not. The Border Enforcement Agency is actually Customs and Border Protection, or CBP. CBP is responsible for enforcing immigration laws at the border, while ICE is responsible for enforcing them inside the country.
--:-- Noel King: I see. So, INS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, used to be the agency that handled all of this. What happened to it?
--:-- Dara Lind: INS was split up into three different agencies: USCIS, which handles immigration benefits and citizenship; CBP, which handles border enforcement; and ICE, which handles interior enforcement.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, got it. So, ICE has been around since 2003. What's changed over time?
--:-- Dara Lind: Well, under the Bush administration, ICE started to focus more on deporting people who were in the country without permission. And under Obama, ICE became even more aggressive in its enforcement efforts.
--:-- Noel King: I think a lot of people are surprised to hear that Obama was deporting a lot of people. Can you talk a bit more about that?
--:-- Dara Lind: Yeah, sure. Under Obama, ICE deported over 400,000 people per year, which is more than any president before or since. And while Obama's administration did try to prioritize deporting people who were a threat to public safety, a lot of people were still being deported who didn't fit that criteria.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, that's interesting. So, what about Trump? What's changed under his administration?
--:-- Dara Lind: Well, Trump has been very aggressive in his enforcement efforts, and has given ICE a lot more latitude to do its job. But in terms of numbers, Trump's enforcement efforts are actually not that different from Obama's.
--:-- Noel King: I see. So, what does it mean to abolish ICE? Would it just mean getting rid of the agency, or would it mean something more?
--:-- Dara Lind: That's a great question. Abolishing ICE would likely mean getting rid of the agency and replacing it with something new. But it's not clear what that new agency would look like, or what its priorities would be.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, that's helpful. So, what's the current state of the abolish ICE movement?
--:-- Dara Lind: Well, it's definitely gained a lot of momentum in recent months. We've seen a lot of protests and demonstrations, and some Democratic politicians have even started to call for ICE to be abolished.
--:-- Noel King: I think a lot of people are confused about what ICE does, and what abolishing it would mean. Can you talk a bit more about that?
--:-- Dara Lind: Yeah, sure. I think a lot of people are misunderstanding what ICE does, and what abolishing it would mean. ICE is not just responsible for deporting people who are in the country without permission. It's also responsible for investigating and prosecuting immigration crimes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, that makes sense. So, what's the next step for the abolish ICE movement?
--:-- Dara Lind: Well, it's hard to say. I think we'll see a lot more debate and discussion about what abolishing ICE would mean, and what a new agency would look like. But it's definitely a conversation that's worth having.
--:-- Noel King: Thanks, Dara, for helping us understand what ICE does and what abolishing it would mean.
--:-- Dara Lind: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's it for today's show. Thanks for listening.
--:-- Noel King: We'll be back tomorrow with a new episode.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @todayexplained.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Noel King: And I'm Noel King.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: We're not making a show tomorrow. We're taking the fourth off, but we'll be back with a banger on the 5th.
--:-- Noel King: Hi, my name is Sandra Castaneda. I live in California.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: You can go follow Today Explained on Twitter at today underscore explained.
--:-- Noel King: You know, we mentioned those refills in the middle of the show. I wonder, do you still have refills coming for a toothbrush that you no longer own?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Because they come like three weeks later.
--:-- Noel King: Yeah. Right? Yeah. In fact, there's a package at my house right now that I haven't opened. Just got back. From Quip.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Yeah. And I think they're the refills.
--:-- Noel King: And I don't know what to do with them.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's so sad.
--:-- Noel King: I know. It's like you have these dreams of free refills, and then it's almost like this just shows up just to taunt you and say, look at your failure.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So that's a great place to leave it.
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