Code Switch Where ICE came from, and where it needs to go
Dec 27, 2025
Erica Lee, a revered immigration historian and director at the Immigration History Research Center, joins Debra Kang, an expert on U.S.-Mexico border policy, to dive deep into the origins and consequences of ICE. They discuss the historical roots of U.S. immigration enforcement, from the Chinese Exclusion Act to post-9/11 changes that shaped today’s policies. Kang highlights the pressing issue of accountability within immigration enforcement and calls for reforms to protect vulnerable populations, especially immigrant children.
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Immigration Enforcement Began With Customs
- Erica Lee traces formal immigration enforcement to 19th-century customs officials who began counting people at ports.
- This origin reveals enforcement grew from trade bureaucracy, not a human-rights framework.
Race Codified In Early Immigration Law
- The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act made race an explicit basis for U.S. immigration exclusion.
- That law institutionalized racial criteria that shaped later detention and enforcement practices.
Angel Island As A Detention Prison
- Erica Lee describes Angel Island as America's first major immigration detention center, harshly different from Ellis Island.
- Chinese immigrants called Angel Island a prison because processing there involved long detentions and interrogation.