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justaprogressive

(6,420 posts)
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 11:50 AM 21 hrs ago

How Democrats Can End Qualified Immunity for ICE Agents By David Sirota



enate Democrats are right now formulating a list of conditions they say must be fulfilled for them to consider providing votes for more funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One of those items could be Democratic legislation that is already written and introduced in Congress: a bill to end qualified immunity for ICE agents, so that communities can hold those agents legally accountable when they murder people.

Days after ICE killed Renee Good, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tweeted out Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller on Fox News declaring, “To all ICE officers: You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties.”

DHS and Miller were referring to qualified immunity, which the National Lawyers Guild notes “is a legal doctrine created by the U.S. Supreme Court that protects public officials, including police officers, immigration officers, and immigration detention center staff from civil liability for constitutional and statutory violations.”

In its story about whether the families of those murdered by ICE can sue federal agents, Reuters points out that under existing legal doctrines, “federal officers are immune from civil lawsuits unless their conduct clearly violated a clearly established constitutional right. This legal standard, known as qualified immunity, has become a highly effective tool for shielding police officers accused of using excessive force.”

But simple, two-page legislation introduced in Congress would change that. This bill has been just sitting there in the US House for months. To be sure, it wouldn’t fix everything. But it could start fixing the specific problem of ICE agents having qualified immunity from wrongful death lawsuits and other such civil cases whose threat of monetary damages are supposed to create a deterrent to bad behavior.


https://jacobin.com/2026/01/democrats-ice-lawsuits-immunity-murder]
14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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How Democrats Can End Qualified Immunity for ICE Agents By David Sirota (Original Post) justaprogressive 21 hrs ago OP
DURec leftstreet 21 hrs ago #1
End it for all government employees MichMan 21 hrs ago #2
Absolutely! Make then buy their own insurance! SheltieLover 21 hrs ago #5
All law enforcement, including ice, should be required to purchase prof liability insurance on their own SheltieLover 21 hrs ago #3
qualified immunity needs to end...period. ret5hd 21 hrs ago #4
💯 SSJVegeta 21 hrs ago #7
This. GETTINGTIRED 20 hrs ago #13
Renewed hope. SSJVegeta 21 hrs ago #6
Kick Faux pas 21 hrs ago #8
What is the reason/purpose/rationale for this "qualified immunity"? intrepidity 21 hrs ago #9
People shouldn't face personal lawsuits for performing their jobs MichMan 19 hrs ago #14
"federal officers are immune from civil lawsuits unless their conduct clearly violated a..." Hugin 21 hrs ago #10
Fuck David Sirota. He helped Trump win in 2016 by smearing Hilary Clinton non-stop on Election Day. emulatorloo 21 hrs ago #11
Abolish ICE and DHS. WhiskeyGrinder 21 hrs ago #12

SheltieLover

(77,851 posts)
3. All law enforcement, including ice, should be required to purchase prof liability insurance on their own
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 11:57 AM
21 hrs ago

Just as other professions do.

How many ice thugs would qualify? Guessing zero.

Taxpayers should not be subjected to abuse from them nor the ensuing lawsuits.

ret5hd

(22,293 posts)
4. qualified immunity needs to end...period.
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 11:58 AM
21 hrs ago

police, etc need to be bonded/insured just like doctors, lawyers, cpa’s, etc.

if you can’t get coverage…well, time to find another job.

intrepidity

(8,573 posts)
9. What is the reason/purpose/rationale for this "qualified immunity"?
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 12:04 PM
21 hrs ago

I don't quite understand. I mean the actual counter-argument.

MichMan

(16,795 posts)
14. People shouldn't face personal lawsuits for performing their jobs
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 02:00 PM
19 hrs ago

Judge or DA gives someone probation, offers a plea bargain that avoids any jail time, or orders someone released from custody pending trial. Person then goes out and commits another crime. Should the Judge or DA be able to be sued by the victims?

This is one that happened around here a few years ago. Gunmen that shot and killed multiple students at Michigan State University was caught a year or so earlier carrying an illegal firearm as a felon. That would have been a felony with jail time, but the DA offered a plea bargain of carrying a loaded firearm inside a vehicle, even though he was on a bicycle at the time. Got probation.

Then police then later had complaints of him target shooting in his back yard in a residential neighborhood, yet did nothing as the DA had a policy of not charging gun crime violations without an underlying crime. Then that same individual went on a shooting spree on the MSU campus killing three and wounding 5 more. Without qualified immunity, the victims could sue the DA, Judge, or police personally for tens of millions for not sentencing him to jail before.

How about elected politicians being sued personally for actions during the covid lockdowns that caused a business to go bankrupt, or legislators being sued personally by someone for laws they passed.

Hugin

(37,567 posts)
10. "federal officers are immune from civil lawsuits unless their conduct clearly violated a..."
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 12:08 PM
21 hrs ago

clearly established constitutional right.”

I would guess that bar had already been met by American citizens being shot in the face while driving and executed for peaceably assembling.

This “qualified immunity” gambit the Turd Reich is playing is a complete overreach. But… If the Democrats want to get very specific about it with a law. Fine.

emulatorloo

(46,151 posts)
11. Fuck David Sirota. He helped Trump win in 2016 by smearing Hilary Clinton non-stop on Election Day.
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 12:23 PM
21 hrs ago
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