The ICE name change proposal has gained support from President Trump, highlighting ongoing political battles over immigration policy that affect Latino communities in California and Los Angeles.
President Trump on Sunday endorsed the idea of changing the name of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would give the agency the acronym NICE.
The idea was promoted by conservative influencer Alyssa Marie last month.
“I want Trump to change ICE to NICE (National Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so the media has to say NICE agents all day everyday,” Marie wrote in a March post on X.
Late Sunday evening, the president publicly endorsed the switch.
“GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Other conservative influencers chimed in with statements of support.
“100% agree! Make it happen, @SecMullinDHS!” Nick Sortor wrote in a post on X, urging the new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to support the change.
A federal agency name change typically requires congressional action through legislation to amend the statutory authority that established the agency.
However, the Trump administration has sought to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War without congressional buy-in.
The ICE name change proposal comes as immigration remains a sore spot for Trump’s approval and the agency remains unfunded due to a standoff in Congress. Democrats have demanded various reforms to immigration enforcement following the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents earlier this year.
Earlier this month, senators unanimously approved a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the exception of ICE and Border Patrol.
Some House Republicans have refused to pass that legislation, instead demanding a reconciliation bill that would fund all of DHS for several years.
On Thursday, the Senate adopted a budget reconciliation framework to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for three and a half years, seen as a potential first step in convincing skeptical House Republicans to move on the other Senate-passed bill.
