By Milani Miller
Illustration by Payton Cordova/Radio 1190
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has come under increasing scrutiny in the recent months following the Trump Administration’s decision to increase ICE activity in predominantly democratic voting states. Former Department for Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem was the target of criticism due to her attempts to justify increasingly aggressive ICE activity. The killing of Renee Good on Jan. 7 followed closely by the murder of Alex Pretti Jan. 24 in Minneapolis by federal agents prompted particularly significant outcry. In both cases DHS and the DOJ controversially claimed agents acted in self defense, despite widely distributed video evidence that is largely considered contrary to these claims.
As Trump’s anti-immigration drive in democratic states, Colorado has seen a large increase in ICE activity. Amid the intensified crackdown, reports have emerged of agents leaving Ace of Spades cards in cars of those arrested. There have been several reports in Eagle County of cards left in the vehicles of detainees with the Aurora Detention Center’s address on the bottom.
Following this incident several lawmakers sent a letter to DHS concerning the implied threat to those taken into ICE custody. In the letter, they write that “the ace of spades card has long been known as the ‘death card’ and has been used by white supremacist groups to inspire fear and threaten physical violence,” raising notice of the risk this behavior has as it “undermines public trust in law enforcement, raises serious civil rights concerns, and falls far short of the professional standards expected of federal agents.” The use of the ace of spades as a “death card” dates back to the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong was known to see the ace of spades as a bad-luck symbol. An infantry used this knowledge and began to place ace of spades along their path and on the bodies of killed Vietnamese citizens and Viet Cong soldiers. The use of the ace of spades in the Vietnam War became widely publicized in newspapers in the US, with alt-right supremacist groups further perpetrating the use of the card within their groups. Federal agents mimicking a controversial war practice has in turn been received as an attempt at intimidating the immigrant community in Eagle County and elsewhere.
Following the incident, DHS announced an internal investigation. Senator John Hickenlooper, a drafter of the letter, urged for an independent federal investigation of the incident separate from the DHS internal investigation. In a note Hickenlooper’s secretary Jess Cohen wrote that Hickenlooper “has consistently condemned the reports of the racist ‘death cards’ left in the cars of people detained by ICE, including in a speech on the Senate floor.” The Senator has also released a statement declaring that they “will not let up until there’s a full independent investigation and real accountability.” Denver civil rights group Voces Unidas has also opened two civil rights violation cases into the issue, with the CEO Alex Sanchez telling CBS news that they “do not believe that law enforcement can investigate themselves.”
The controversy demonstrated the increasing political rift that ICE’s activity and the DHS’ refusal of accountability is causing. Congressman Joe Neguse called out ICE’s activity as “abuses being committed by the Trump administration” in a press release. He stated that “these outrageous, aggressive intimidation tactics are meant to stoke fear among our neighbors, and it is immoral and wrong. This administration must be held accountable, and we cannot allow this to continue unchecked.”
Following public outcry against ICE’s activity and ability to avoid the legal constraints of common law enforcement, Denver city council passed a unanimous resolution to ban the use of identity concealing face masks used for federal agents. This is one of the first moves that a city has independently taken to limit ICE activity. DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis released a statement calling the ban “despicable and a flagrant attempt to endanger our officers,” underlining a growing feud between local politicians and federal officials. The ban has not gone into effect as of March 9, as it is currently awaiting signing by Mayor Mike Johnston.