In his Feb. 15appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered a masterclass in political gaslighting.

He branded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “rogue force,” “out of control,” and “almost trained … to be nasty and mean and cruel.”

Schumer decried “masked agents conducting warrantless operations,” “roving patrols” that “bash in” doors, “secret police” tactics “reminiscent of what you see in dictatorships,” and bemoaned “chaos, secrecy, and zero accountability.”

He tied this to isolated incidents in Minneapolis involving the deaths of U.S. citizens during enforcement actions, framing ICE as terrorizing “innocent Americans” and “everyday” immigrant families.

But there’s more: Democrats, he insisted, demand “common sense” guardrails, which include no ICE agents wearing masks, body cameras always on, judicial warrants for every entry, an end to roving patrols, and stricter use-of-force policies.

Democrats insist on these demands, and have partially shutdown the government by refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and several other federal agencies.

Schumer’s portrayal inverts reality: ICE is not a rogue agency but a federal law enforcement body executing the immigration statutes passed by Congress and directed by the elected president.

Its methods –– administrative warrants for civil removal orders, tactical gear including masks for officer protection amid a documented 1,300%+ surge in assaults and 8,000% increase in death threats since the current enforcement push began — are standard for high-risk operations.

FBI hostage rescues, DEA raids on fentanyl labs, and even local SWAT teams routinely employ masks, anonymity, and dynamic entries when facing armed threats or doxxing risks.

Local police are “unmasked” in routine traffic stops, but they do not regularly confront transnational cartels, MS-13 affiliates, or activist networks that publish officers’ home addresses.

Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos