Marko Protic
BBC journalist
When rapper Robert Van Winkle, better known as Vanilla Ice, released the single "Ice, Ice, Baby" in 1990 ("Ice, ice, baby"), the song was a huge hit and audiences across America enjoyed listening to and singing it.
Three and a half decades later, this song has an ominous overtone for many in America, as if the opening bars announce the arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, whose abbreviation is ICE (translated as: ice).
Their actions and methods have been the focus of attention of the American and global public since President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January 2025, and especially after two deadly incidents in Minneapolis in which they lost their lives. Pure God i Alex Preti.
Due to these actions, a large number of agents were deployed across the country, which caused resistance among residents.
The killings and incidents have raised questions about whether ICE agents are overstepping their authority, who supervises and can limit them, how they recruit people, and whether their agents receive adequate training.
"The attack by ICE agents on people constitutes excessive force under the US Constitution and a violation of the human right to liberty," Anthony Enriquez, vice president of the non-governmental organization Robert Kennedy Center for Human Rights, told BBC Serbian.
Yet for many in America, strong immigration enforcement represents the fulfillment of Trump's campaign promise.
"ICE is doing its job, and there is no agency that doesn't make mistakes sometimes."
"But the criticism is coming from people who have done everything in their power to obstruct the enforcement of American immigration laws," Ira Melman, director of the conservative organization FAIR, tells BBC Serbian.
Where does ICE look for recruits?
During the first year of Trump's new term, television footage was not uncommon of groups in olive green vests and jackets, with helmets and face masks, carrying long pipes searching cars and houses, while residents and activists gathered around them to protest.
ICE recruited nearly 12.000 people by January 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced, which is an increase of 120 percent and now has a total of 22.000 agents.
This service has invested a large amount of money in recruitment, and they also use numerous online influencers to get people interested, American lawyer and former police officer Melissa Hamilton tells BBC Serbian.
"They specifically targeted people in online ads who are interested in the military and weapons and are patriotic."
"These ads are mostly aimed at a conservative audience," Hamilton explains.
BBC Serbian sent a query to the ICE press service about the criteria for admission to the service, as well as what training candidates must undergo, but no response was received by the time the article was published.
"What I do know is that candidates must have no criminal record, pass a polygraph, and meet a minimum standard of physical fitness, depending on the specific position," Hamilton claims.
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What kind of training do ICE agents receive?
Due to numerous incidents during operations, the Ministry of National Security has been the target of criticism from the media and some experts who claim that there is no adequate training for candidates.
From when and how to handle firearms, to acting in situations where they are surrounded by a large number of hostile protesters - these are all elements that call them into question.
"These are the most important things, because that's exactly why agents can be subject to civil lawsuits."
"I trained a lot of police officers and sometimes some of the lessons were boring, but I told them: 'I have to teach you properly, because if I don't do it, you will definitely be under investigation,'" Felipe Rodriguez, a police officer and professor at John Jay College in New York, told BBC Serbian.
The training of police officers and ICE agents is essentially the same when it comes to the use of firearms, he adds.
After the killings in Minneapolis, American media reported that agent training had been reduced from 20 to seven weeks.
Research The National Institute of Policing in America from 2022. indicates that longer and higher quality training leads to better results for police officers in the field and fewer incidents.
"So it stands to reason that if you're shortening the training time and reducing the volume because you want to accommodate a significantly larger number of people than usual, you can expect there to be problems on the ground," says Melissa Hamilton, who is also a professor at the University of Surrey in the UK.
ICE officers are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Center in Glinko, Georgia, according to the this agency's website.
The instructors are "experienced probation, detention and deportation officers, as well as lawyers."
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What was de-escalation?
Although the issue of stricter enforcement of immigration policy was one of those on which Trump won the 2024 election, the killings in Minneapolis and frequent incidents have begun to change the attitude of public opinion in the US.
U research In an Ipsos poll conducted in late January 2026, after the deaths of Renee Goode and Alex Pretty, Trump's immigration policy was supported by 39 percent of respondents, a drop of 11 percentage points from the period a year ago.
As many as 58 percent of respondents believe that ICE agents "overdid" the way they carried out their actions.
The scenes of violence also raised questions about whether ICE representatives could have reacted differently in situations with a fatal outcome.
"I'm always in favor of de-escalation, I teach that in college, but you can't de-escalate a situation with people who don't want it," explains Felipe Rodriguez, who believes that there are "professional agitators" among the protesters.
According to police regulations, which are not exactly the same in all American states, "if an officer determines that his life, that of his partner or anyone else is in danger - the use of force is permitted."
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Excessive force
Renee Goode was killed on January 7th while she was in a car protesting during the raids.
American authorities claim that she tried to run over the agent, while witnesses deny this and explain that she tried to leave the scene of the incident.
"There are a multitude of factors to consider in any fatal shooting," says Officer Rodriguez.
"It has to do with the police officer's background, training or lack thereof, and it's not a situation where we immediately say 'guilty or not guilty,' that's why we go to court," he adds.
Both Minneapolis murders have been investigated, the agents involved in the incidents have been suspended, and ICE's behavior has become the subject of political debate between Trump and local authorities in Minnesota, which are controlled by Democrats.
One of the most frequently asked questions was whether the agent had to shoot directly at the woman behind the wheel.
It always looks good in the movies when a cop is chasing someone and shoots a tire to puncture it and stop the vehicle, but "if we could do that, imagine how many chases we could stop," Rodriguez says.
"It's not just what you see that matters, it's also what the police officer hears - he's standing in front of the car and you hear 'whoosh'."
"When we respond, we need to quickly identify what and where the threat is," he argues.
Watch the video: Frame by frame analysis of the murder of Alex Pretty in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis killings differ from previous incidents not only in their fatal outcomes, but also in the fact that both victims were American citizens.
And both were protesters who were not the first to participate in actions against ICE.
There was no reasonable suspicion that Goode violated immigration laws, and even if she did, the Constitution prohibits the administration from using excessive force, points out Anthony Enriquez of the Robert Kennedy Center for Human Rights.
"And shooting someone, using a taser, spraying them with pepper spray - all of that is excessive force."
The second victim, Alex Preti, was killed because he had a gun and allegedly resisted ICE agents' attempts to disarm him.
Eyewitnesses, local officials and the victim's family disputed that statement, pointing out that he had a phone in his hand, not a weapon.
Watch video: See the moment a US immigration agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis
'The Boy Case'
The news that ICE in Minnesota had detained a a five-year-old boy whose father is an illegal immigrant.
The father and son were then sent to a detention center in Texas, and ICE denied using the boy as "bait" for the father.
"It is to be expected that immigration officers will be delicate in dealing with children, calling family members and social services," Caitlin Bush Joseph tells BBC Serbian.
There are about five million children of American citizens living with illegal immigrant parents or relatives.
"This leads to very difficult choices for families - whether to be separated from their own children or to be deported together," she adds.
But there are also those who believe that ICE acted correctly in this situation.
"You don't want to separate families, and when the father or mother is in the country illegally, you can't just leave a five-year-old alone," says Ira Melman of FAIR.
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What is ICE and when was it founded?
The agency enforces immigration laws, conducts investigations of undocumented immigrants, and expels them from the country.
ICE was formed in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed, of which ICE is a part.
A month after the Minneapolis killings, Tom Homan, Trump's man in charge of overseeing immigration policy, the so-called border "czar," announced that ICE is ending its operation in Minnesota.
Some Democrats in Congress have called for the abolition of ICE, and some Republicans have also hardened their stance towards the agency.
"When someone gets hurt, we always have to look at why it happened."
"Despite everything, we are not here to take lives," concludes New York City police officer Felipe Rodriguez.
Watch this video: Batman walks into city council and says: 'Don't cooperate with ICE agents'
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Bonus video:
