ICE is now effectively Donald Trump’s personal paramilitary. They’ve been given extrajudicial powers over anyone they encounter, with the ability to ignore due process and detain anyone they like, regardless of citizenship status.
Americans able to rapidly produce a passport and birth certificate might be safe, but anyone who can’t is under threat from them. And, as the last few months have shown, those legally in the country but without full citizenship are squarely in their crosshairs as ICE agents frantically attempt to fill their strict daily quota of abductions.
As a measure of how powerful ICE has now become, Trump has ordered that the Marines are now subservient to them. The president just consigned 200 Marines to Florida, with the Pentagon explaining that they’re there to “help immigration officials with logistical and administration support”.
Trump is sending US Marines to Florida and according to ABC News "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will determine what the Marines will do and where they work, according to NORTHCOM."
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 4, 2025
I'm sorry but WTF.https://t.co/xqHPmMndMz
U.S. Northern Command confirmed that the Marines from the Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina will be at the disposal of the local ICE boss, who “will determine what the Marines will do and where they work”.
Alligator Alcatraz guard duty
Their first job will almost certainly be to clear up “Alligator Alcatraz”, which was flooded by swampwater almost as soon as it was unveiled. The flooding didn’t seem to come as much of a surprise to those running it, as presumably the conditions there becoming unpleasant have been factored into the cruelty of its design.
And they may have their hands full. The first poor souls being sent to die in this swamp have been steadily arriving to discover the unbearable humidity, swarms of mosquitoes, and the sadistic glee from officials at them being eaten by wildlife if they dare to escape.
Our sympathies are with them. But, just for a moment, we have to extend a modicum of empathy with those Marines. They signed up to protect the United States and here they are, posted to a miserable swamp, placed under the command of inexperienced ICE goons, and ordered to play concentration camp guard in what’s sure to go down in history as one of the United States’ most miserable and shameful episodes in its history.
It should probably be noted that the Oath of Enlistment requires each enlisted person to swear that they will “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”. Is being a camp guard in an ICE black site that’s specifically designed for “cruel and unusual punishment” defending the Constitution? Well, that’s for each Marine to decide.
