Original Date Announced

ProPublica reports that ICE has dramatically increased use of force during immigration arrests, including smashing the car windows of individuals who do not quickly comply with officer demands to open the door. ProPublica identified nearly 50 documented instances of immigration agents breaking vehicle windows during the second Trump administration, compared to eight instances in the previous decade. Experts and former ICE officials report that previous administrations "rarely" used this tactic and that there is no known formal policy change greenlighting increased use of force.

People interviewed by ProPublica reported that immigration officers have smashed car windows when there were crying children and pregnant women inside, and when people inside the car have informed officers that they are U.S. citizens or are waiting for their attorney to arrive. They report head wounds, broken bones, and other injuries due to beatings and, in one case, being dragged through a broken car window.

ICE states that its officers use a "minimum amount of force" when making arrests.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1895]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.09.26 Dan Goldman & Brad Lander - Referral of ICE Officer to U.S. Attorney's Office for Felony Prosecution

Representative Dan Goldman and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander sent a letter to Attorney General Bondi referring an ICE officer for potential excessive-force prosecution. The referral follows a video-recorded incident in which the officer “violently and unnecessarily threw” a woman to the ground in front of her children at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, causing her to require hospital treatment. The incident took place shortly after ICE agents detained the woman's husband after a court appearance for his asylum application. The letter states that the officer’s actions may violate the Fourth Amendment and other federal law.

According to CBS News, although the ICE officer was temporarily relieved of his duties, he was placed back on duty after a preliminary review of the incident.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.10.13 Reported: Tackles, projectiles and gunfire: Many fear ICE tactics are growing more violent - NPR

NPR reports an increase in violence and excessive force by ICE officials in enforcement actions across the Chicago area and other cities. In multiple cases, officers have been filmed using pepper balls, tackling people, and drawing weapons, sometimes at bystanders and journalists. Advocates say these incidents are part of a broader pattern of escalating force, citing recent raids, shootings, and injuries during ICE operations. Federal officials have defended these actions as necessary responses to perceived threats, but body camera footage and witness accounts have raised questions about whether the force used was justified.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.10.21 Reported: TikTok influencer shot during LA immigration enforcement operation - CBS News

CBS News reports that Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a TikTok influencer who goes by Richard LA, was shot in the elbow along with a deputy U.S. Marshal during an encounter with immigration enforcement officers in South Los Angeles. The government alleges that Parias refused to comply with immigration authorities' orders, leading federal agents to box his car in an attempt to arrest him. Parias then allegedly rammed his vehicle into the federal agents, resulting in officers opening fire. Federal prosecutors stated that Parias will be charged with assaulting a federal officer.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.06 Preliminary Injunction - Chicago Headline Club v. Noem

District Judge Sara Ellis issued a detailed preliminary injunction that, among other things, enjoins federal agents from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against any person whom they know or reasonably should know is a journalist; using riot control weapons on class members; and using hands-on physical force or restraint tactics involving pressure to the neck on class members. The order also requires federal agents to have visible identification affixed to their uniforms and be equipped and trained with body cameras.

In an order granting plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, Judge Ellis also stated that the Defendants and their agents had used force "indiscriminately, without making individualized assessments as to threat." Chicago Headline Club v. Noem, No. 1:25-cv-12173 (N.D. Ill.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.10 Reported: ICE Throws Pepper Spray Into Car With Toddler Inside, Video Appears to Show - Newsweek

Newsweek reports that an ICE agent allegedly sprayed pepper spray into a car with a toddler inside, leaving both the driver and his young daughter in distress. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied that any pepper spray was used. The driver said that he and his daughter were hit while trying to leave a Sam’s Club parking lot; they were not protesting, nor did they have any other contact with law enforcement before they were allegedly pepper-sprayed.

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.10 Project on Government Oversight - El Centro Border Patrol Agents Use Disproportionate Force

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) reports that, according to data from 2022 to 2025, CBP agents in the El Centro Sector, California, have reported using force on other people more than three times as many as they have faced assaults—the highest ratio of use of force to assault of any CBP sector in the nation. There were 300 incidents of El Centro agents using force and 83 incidents of assaults against agents.