Do ICE Officers Have 'Immunity'?
January 15, 2026
31 min
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337 of 364
Episode 165 · January 15, 2026
Do ICE Officers Have 'Immunity'?
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The Atlantic Episodes Around January 15, 2026
Episode 337 of 364 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
31:28This episodeDo ICE Officers Have 'Immunity'?
Summary
Tensions are high in Minneapolis this week. The Trump administration is sending more federal agents. Protesters are calling for justice for the killing of an unarmed citizen. But what could actually happen legally? Especially when the Department of Justice seems more interested in trying to open a criminal investigation into the victim’s wife than the ICE officer who pulled the trigger?
We talk to the legal researcher Bryna Godar about the history of prosecutions against federal agents and why they’re not often successful. And we speak with the Atlantic staff writer Nick Miroff, who covers immigration, about what members of ICE are saying internally—and why they now feel more emboldened than ever.
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