ICE and its detention facilities 

By: Tuffy Fields

Growing up in rural North Louisiana as a child we used the term “ice” to refer to the cubes we put in our glasses before adding water or sweet tea or cool aid. What a difference a generation makes with the definitions used in the English language. When today one hears the term “Ice” it does not connotate a cool drink in the middle of summer. So what is Ice today. 

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE, is an important part of the federal government. Its main job is to enforce immigration laws and protect national security. Even though ICE itself is a fairly new agency, the ideas behind it have existed for a long time in American history. 

ICE was officially created on March 1, 2003 during the George W. Bush presidential term. It was formed as part of a major government change after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The U.S. government wanted to improve security and prevent future attacks, so it created the Department of Homeland Security. ICE became one of the agencies within this department. It combined parts of two older organizations: the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Customs Service.