Fact check: Do ICE officers really have ‘federal immunity’ in the US?

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has told Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents they are legally protected from prosecution and section officials cannot apprehension them.

Fox News big Will Cain questioned Miller during an October 24 interview. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Cain said, “talked astir interfering with, arresting, ICE agents successful Illinois”.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4More than 130 killed: How did a Brazil raid connected a Rio favela crook truthful deadly?
• list 2 of 4Trump announces lowest exile admittance headdress successful US past astatine 7,500
• list 3 of 4Trump medication sets rules to barroom groups it opposes from indebtedness relief
• list 4 of 4Trump calls for Senate to scrap filibuster maneuver to extremity the gov’t shutdown

Cain asked Miller nether what national authorization the Trump medication could apprehension Pritzker if the politician tried to apprehension ICE agents.

“To each ICE officers, you person national immunity successful the behaviour of your duties,” Miller said. “And anybody who lays a manus connected you oregon tries to halt you oregon tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.”

Miller said his reply applied to immoderate section oregon authorities authoritative “who conspires oregon engages successful enactment that unlawfully impedes national instrumentality enforcement conducting their duties”.

The time earlier Miller’s comments, Pritzker signed an enforcement bid establishing the Illinois Accountability Commission to papers national instrumentality enforcement actions and notation imaginable instrumentality violations to section and authorities agencies for investigation. Chicago is the latest people successful the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and agents person arrested more than 3,000 people there.

Pritzker acknowledged successful an October 16 interrogation that “federal agents typically person national immunity, but they’re not immune from the national authorities holding them accountable and responsible”.

His connection is little sweeping than Miller’s, and Pritzker noted that the national authorities tin prosecute national agents.

Immigration agents, similar different instrumentality enforcement officers, person wide protections erstwhile conducting authoritative duties. That doesn’t mean they can’t beryllium held legally accountable if they interruption authorities oregon national law.

“Federal officials are not categorically immune from authorities transgression prosecution, adjacent portion connected duty,” Bryna Godar, a lawyer astatine the University of Wisconsin’s State Democracy Research Initiative, wrote successful a July 17 report.

When contacted for comment, the White House pointed PolitiFact to an October 23 missive that US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote to California officials.

“The Department of Justice views immoderate arrests of national agents and officers successful the show of their authoritative duties arsenic some amerciable and futile,” Blanche wrote.

He cited respective national laws and provisions, including the US Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The clause limits erstwhile states tin prosecute national agents who interruption authorities law, but it does not enactment arsenic broad immunity, ineligible experts said.

Miller’s connection is “wrong connected its face”, Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown University law instrumentality professor, wrote successful his October 27 newsletter.

The national authorities tin prosecute migration agents who interruption the law

Federal migration agents can’t interruption the instrumentality with impunity.

In 2024, a national justice convicted and sentenced to national situation a US Customs and Border Protection cause for utilizing excessive unit against 2 radical astatine the confederate border. Department of Homeland Security watchdog officers investigated the case.

The national authorities has cited its powerfulness to clasp agents accountable successful tribunal arguments. After a Border Patrol cause changeable and killed a 15-year-old Mexican lad astatine the confederate borderline successful 2010, the Justice Department said successful a 2019 Supreme Court little that the national authorities investigates allegations of excessive unit by agents “and whitethorn bring a national transgression prosecution wherever appropriate”.

Non-government organisations tin besides writer the national authorities for its agents’ actions. Several groups successful Chicago, including journalism organisations, sued the Trump medication saying national agents are utilizing “a signifier of utmost brutality successful a concerted and ongoing effort to soundlessness the property and civilians”.

In that case, national District Judge Sara Ellis ordered immigration agents not to usage teardrop state and different riot power tactics unless radical are posing an contiguous threat. If the agents are going to usage teardrop gas, they are required to springiness a verbal informing first.

After reports that agents weren’t pursuing the tribunal order, Ellis ordered Gregory Bovino, the elder Border Patrol authoritative overseeing the national migration actions successful Chicago, to conscionable with her each weeknight to study each confrontations officers person with the public. A national appeals tribunal has since temporarily paused Ellis’s order.

Vladeck wrote that adjacent if the Trump medication does not analyse oregon prosecute migration agents who mightiness person breached the law, it doesn’t mean the national authorities doesn’t person the powerfulness to bash so.

Pritzker said his state’s committee seeks to papers actions that could beryllium prosecuted successful the future.

Demonstrators clasp signs during a protestation against ICE raids, successful Little Village, Chicago, Illinois, US, connected October 24, 2025 [Daniel Cole/Reuters]

State governments aren’t barred from prosecuting national agents

State governments tin besides prosecute migration agents if they interruption authorities law. However, determination is simply a regulation known arsenic supremacy clause immunity, which comes from the US Constitution’s clause that says national instrumentality supersedes conflicting authorities laws.

Protections against authorities prosecution for national agents day backmost to a 1890 Supreme Court decision. David Neagle, a US marshal assigned to support a Supreme Court justice, changeable and killed a antheral who assaulted the justice. California arrested Neagle and charged him with murder. The Supreme Court ruled that the authorities couldn’t prosecute Neagle due to the fact that helium was carrying retired authoritative duties.

Generally, national agents are protected from authorities prosecution if their actions were authorised by national law, and if the actions were “necessary and proper” for agents to fulfil their duties.

A national tribunal ruled successful 1990 that a customs cause was immune from authorities charges for speeding portion driving during a cause operation. The cause acted nether US laws and was justified successful concluding speeding was indispensable to fulfil his duties, the tribunal said.

But a US marine wasn’t given immunity successful 1990 aft helium killed a idiosyncratic successful a car mishap portion helium was driving successful a subject convoy successful North Carolina.

“In short, portion Supremacy Clause immunity grants national officials a partial shield from authorities prosecution, that immunity is not absolute,” Godar wrote.

Contrary to Miller’s statement, Vladeck wrote, it’s not a felony “for section oregon authorities authorities to apprehension idiosyncratic who they person probable origin to judge committed a authorities crime”.

If a authorities brought charges against national migration agents, the tribunal would person to find whether an serviceman reasonably would person thought the actions were indispensable to transportation retired national duties.

“That’s a generous standard, to beryllium sure,” Vladeck wrote. “But it is by nary means a get-out-of-prosecution-free card.”

Our ruling

Miller said: “To each ICE officers, you person national immunity successful the behaviour of your duties.”

Immigration agents, similar different instrumentality enforcement officers, person wide protections erstwhile they’re conducting authoritative duties. But they’re not immune from prosecution if they interruption authorities oregon national law.

The national authorities tin and does prosecute national officers who interruption the law.

States can’t prosecute agents for breaking authorities instrumentality if the agents were acting nether the tenable confines of their authoritative duties. But those restrictions aren’t absolute.

The connection contains an constituent of truth; national migration agents person immoderate immunity from authorities prosecution. But the protections aren’t arsenic sweeping arsenic Miller made them sound, giving a antithetic impression. Federal agents tin and person been prosecuted by states.

We complaint Miller’s connection Mostly False.