{"id":103202,"date":"2026-01-24T08:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T06:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103202"},"modified":"2026-01-24T08:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T06:11:42","slug":"ice-faces-growing-backlash-amid-calls-for-disbandment-over-alleged-abuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/ice-faces-growing-backlash-amid-calls-for-disbandment-over-alleged-abuses\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE faces growing backlash amid calls for disbandment over alleged abuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read | 21 January 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"

Anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis have ramped up after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent on 7 January. (Image\/Reuters)<\/p><\/div>\n

Urgent concerns are mounting in the United States following fresh allegations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has evolved into a militarised force operating beyond meaningful accountability, prompting renewed calls for the agency to be disbanded.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Radio Islam International<\/em><\/a>, Metro Washington-based human rights advocate and Afia Foundation operations director Mauri Salakhan described ICE in stark terms, warning that the agency \u201coperates outside the law\u201d and no longer upholds constitutional protections. \u201cIt is not an organisation that enforces in a respectful way within the limits of the constitution,\u201d he said, adding that ICE now functions \u201calmost like a private militia force for one of the most repressive political organisations of my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salakhan alleged that under the Trump administration, ICE has acted with increasing impunity, targeting immigrant communities while eroding civil liberties. Although exact deportation figures remain unclear, he said the scale of operations is \u201cquite significant\u201d, particularly in the state of Minnesota, which he described as a \u201ctest case\u201d for how far the agency can go without consequence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they are able to get away with what they have been doing in the state of Minnesota then it\u2019s going to be open season for the rest of the country,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

He revealed that an estimated 3 000 ICE operatives are currently deployed in the greater Minneapolis area a figure that reportedly exceeds the combined strength of local police departments. \u201cThey greatly outnumber the police department and in fact the police departments combined,\u201d Salakhan said, adding that even local law enforcement now feels \u201cunder siege\u201d.<\/p>\n

Describing conditions on the streets as \u201cheartbreaking\u201d, Salakhan pointed to troubling encounters between ICE agents and civilians, including the interrogation of an off-duty female police officer. He said she was treated \u201cin a very disrespectful way\u201d and only released after identifying herself, without even receiving an apology.<\/p>\n

Public outrage has intensified following the fatal shooting of a civilian, Renee Good, by an ICE officer who has not been held accountable. Salakhan said the incident has struck a nerve nationwide. \u201cThis was a white woman shot deliberately in the face by an ICE officer,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they can do this to a white woman and get away with it, it\u2019s open season on everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demonstrations have since erupted across the United States, with growing calls for reform and accountability. Salakhan said his organisation is mobilising communities in line with Islamic principles of justice. Quoting the Qur\u2019an, he urged people to \u201cstand firmly for justice even if it be against yourselves,\u201d and to resist oppression with both voice and action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call ourselves the land of liberty and justice for all,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are far from it today.\u201d<\/p>\n

As scrutiny intensifies, pressure continues to mount on US authorities to restore oversight, protect civil rights and confront what critics warn is a dangerous drift toward authoritarian enforcement.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Habib Bobat and Mauri Salakhan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 21 January 2026 Urgent concerns are mounting in the United States following fresh allegations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has evolved into a militarised force operating beyond meaningful accountability, prompting renewed calls for the agency to be disbanded. Speaking on Radio Islam International, Metro Washington-based human rights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ICE.jpg?fit=999%2C561&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qQy","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 05:22:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}