Featured Image Credit: Nathan Howard/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Social Media, US News, News, Politics, Twitter
Madison Burgess
Topics: Donald Trump, Social Media, US News, News, Politics, Twitter
Donald Trump has floated the idea of renaming ICE agents as 'NICE' agents.
For those who are unfamiliar, ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement - but the idea is to tweak the longer version of the name to National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would, of course, abbreviate to NICE rather than ICE. You get the gist.
On Monday (27 April), the US President, 79, endorsed the plans on Truth Social by resharing a post from right-wing influencer Alyssa Marie, who made the suggestion.
Revealing the reason why, Marie penned: “I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day everyday."
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The Republican leader posted her tweet to his own page, alongside the caption, "GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT. President DJT."
So, although any official name change plans are yet to be confirmed, it looks like the idea is firmly on Trump's radar.
The White House later shared a mock-up poster displaying the idea, showing an ICE agent crouching down to speak to a little boy, with an American flag in the background.
It reads: "NICE Agents. Defending our country," with the agents' vest reading 'NICE' rather than ICE.
Alongside the poster, they wrote: "ICE - NICE AGENTS. 'National Immigration and Customs Enforcement.' DO IT!"
However, the idea has prompted backlash online, with one X user writing: "This is such a creepy propaganda rebrand. Kneeling down with a kid in front of a border wall while calling ICE "NICE AGENTS" doesn’t make family separations or aggressive raids any less harsh. Just enforce the laws without the weird marketing campaign."
A second penned: "Did it take a full night in the editing bay to settle on this graphic? Slapping the word "NICE" on a uniform doesn't change what the person in the uniform actually does."
A third unimpressed social media user wrote: "Another absolute waste of time and money spent on a superficial BS name change project. Stop spending money we do not have on dumb s*** we do not need."
And a fourth and fifth agreed: "Literally a propaganda tactic and you people are ok with this" and "Still can’t believe this isn’t a parody account."
ICE is highly controversial due to its aggressive immigration enforcement and mass deportations across America during Trump's second presidency.
The backlash came to a head following fatal shootings involving agents in Minneapolis in January.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead by ICE agents after it was claimed she was 'blocking the street' with her car while they carried out an operation in Minnesota.
Weeks later, Alex Pretii, also 37, and an intensive care unit nurse, was fatally shot by a US Border Patrol agent, prompting further outcry and protests.
In February, more controversy erupted when five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by ICE as he returned home from school.
The proposed rebranding comes after Senate Republicans recently approved a budget resolution, to allocate up to $140 billion in funds to ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
However, as per The Independent, the funding resolution, which was opposed by all Senate Democrats and two Republicans, still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives before the funds can be formally allocated.
Tyla has contacted the White House for comment.