Amnesty International Demands Abolition of ICE Over Documented Human Rights Violations

Findings across four metropolitan areas

Amnesty International published an investigation on Thursday examining federal immigration enforcement actions across four metropolitan areas: Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. The findings are based on interviews conducted between March and June 2026 with 154 individuals directly impacted by these operations. The report details widespread racial profiling, arbitrary detentions based on skin color or language, and unlawful force by masked federal officers operating without visible identification. Researchers documented agents smashing vehicle windows, entering residences with drawn weapons, and tackling individuals who offered no physical resistance. Earlier this week in Evanston, witnesses recorded officers detaining a US citizen after mistaking him for an arrest target, leaving him injured on the ground.

Documented fatalities and armed operations

The report catalogues a series of lethal encounters involving federal personnel during large-scale enforcement initiatives. In Illinois, agents killed Silverio Villegas-González in Franklin Park during Operation Midway Blitz, which ran from September to December 2025. In January 2026, federal agents in Minneapolis shot and killed two United States citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Enforcement actions resulted in further casualties in July 2026, when four men died during operations in a single week: Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, Lorenzo Salgado Araújo, Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, and Jesús Manuel Arenas Silva. Additional lethal or armed incidents occurred in Houston, Maine, and Austin.

Legal mechanisms and detention conditions

Federal authorities carried out these enforcement actions using specific statutory authorities and administrative rules under the administration of Donald Trump. The administration applied the Laken Riley Act to hold individuals without bail for minor offenses such as shoplifting, alongside the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Amnesty also documented prolonged stays in substandard facilities, such as the Broadview center near Chicago, which held detainees beyond the 72-hour limit despite lacking formal detention facility status. A federal judge issued an injunction in November 2025 mandating stricter use-of-force rules, following an October order requiring body cameras during arrests.

Nadia Daar, executive director of Amnesty International USA, stated that the documented enforcement patterns aim to spread fear throughout immigrant communities.

Our report documents a chilling pattern of human rights violations across the United States intended to instill fear in migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee communities.

Case for complete agency dissolution

Amnesty concluded that piecemeal reforms, updated operational guidelines, and internal disciplinary measures cannot remedy systemic abuses within the agency. Testimonies gathered by the organization included accounts from Minnesota State Representative Liish Kozlowski, whose pregnant relative was held at gunpoint by federal agents during an operation. University of Minnesota law professor Liliana Zaragoza spoke during the report release, noting that current enforcement structures fail to make communities safer.

Julia Durchrow, secretary general of Amnesty International in Germany, explained the wider scope of the findings since the current presidential term began.

Human rights violations by ICE existed before Donald Trump took office. Our report shows that these abuses have been systematic since 2025 on a completely new scale and shaped by racist narratives.