What public records exist for ICE use-of-force incidents (shootings, taser deaths) between 2009 and 2017?
Executive summary
Between 2009 and 2017, public records relevant to ICE use-of-force incidents exist in several categories—internal ICE/Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directives and detention standards, Inspector General and local law‑enforcement investigative files, litigation and FOIA disclosures, and select media compilations—but there is no single comprehensive, routinely published ICE list covering shootings and taser deaths for that period in the sources reviewed [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. ICE and DHS policy and reporting documents: what ICE says it must keep
ICE and DHS maintain written use‑of‑force policies and detention standards that require documentation when force is used: ICE’s firearms and use‑of‑force handbook sets reporting obligations and incident review procedures (published 2021 but reflective of agency practice revisions) and the National Detention Standards require documentation of all use‑of‑force incidents involving detainees [1] [2]. The Department Policy on the Use of Force codifies that excessive force is unlawful and that incidents must be reported and reviewed, creating paper trails in principle [5].
2. DHS, OIG and component reporting: formal but fragmented sources
DHS-level compilations and the Office of Homeland Security Statistics publish use‑of‑force tables that incorporate component submissions including ICE, producing annual statistics and incident breakdowns; these datasets and webpages are a public source for recorded incidents when agencies complied with reporting definitions [6]. The DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has statutory authority to investigate potentially criminal use‑of‑force incidents and its reports are public when issued, but the OIG’s right of first refusal and case selection can leave gaps in which local or component reviews remain the only public record [4].
3. Investigative journalism, FOIA litigation and court records: how many incidents surfaced publicly
Investigations by outlets like The Trace, Wired and others obtained ICE shooting logs and related records only after protracted FOIA requests and litigation, producing case-by-case chronicles of shootings—many of which occurred in public places, involved firing at vehicles, or allegedly injured unarmed people—illustrating that public records exist but often only after litigation and cross‑analysis [4] [3] [7]. Journalists and litigants have relied on ICE incident reports, body‑camera footage, OIG reports, court filings and depositions to reconstruct events, demonstrating that local law‑enforcement reports and court records are key public entries for specific deadly‑force cases [4] [3].
4. Oversight audits and GAO findings: documented limits to availability and quality
Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other oversight work has documented persistent weaknesses in ICE’s use‑of‑force data collection and review processes and found that the agency’s recordkeeping and reporting do not provide a reliable public accounting or an audit trail suitable for independent oversight—findings that explain why comprehensive public records for 2009–2017 are hard to assemble from agency sources alone [8] [3].
5. Local records, news archives, and practical limits for 2009–2017 researchers
For researchers seeking shootings or taser‑death records from 2009–2017, the practical public sources are (a) local police and sheriff investigative reports when local agencies investigated or assisted, (b) DHS OIG reports where produced, (c) court dockets and civil‑rights lawsuits, (d) FOIA‑released ICE incident logs and internal investigations obtained via litigation, and (e) contemporaneous media reporting compiled by investigative outlets—none of which, according to the sources reviewed, together form a single, complete, agency‑published inventory for 2009–2017 [4] [3] [7] [6]. Oversight and journalistic work shows that many records required litigation or cross‑referencing of multiple document types to reveal the full scope of incidents [3] [7].
6. Competing claims and the enduring transparency gap
ICE and DHS point to formal policies requiring reporting and internal review [1] [5], while watchdogs, journalists and the GAO argue that those policies have not translated into transparent, accessible public datasets for historical periods including 2009–2017, and that FOIA exemptions, outsourcing of investigations to local agencies, and incomplete data practices have limited the public record [3] [7] [8]. The sources reviewed document both the existence of discrete public records and a structural inability to rely on ICE to proactively publish a comprehensive list of shootings and taser deaths for 2009–2017 [4] [3] [7].