As ICE ramps up enforcement across the country we asked: Who are they?
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 18 minutes
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Summary
Masked ICE agents have become the face of President Donald Trump’s nationwide deportation campaign, as viral videos of violent arrests captivate audiences on social media. But who are they and what motivates them to do the work? USA TODAY National Correspondents Lauren Villagran and Trevor Hughes join The Excerpt to share their reporting.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | They're going inside of Walgreens. |
| 0:06.0 | They got someone inside of Walgreens. |
| 0:08.0 | They got someone inside of Walgreens. |
| 0:11.0 | Masked ICE agents have become the face of President Donald Trump's nationwide deportation campaign as viral videos of violent arrests, |
| 0:20.0 | captivate audiences on social media. |
| 0:22.0 | Step back. |
| 0:23.6 | He's not doing anything. |
| 0:25.6 | You're seeing that. |
| 0:26.6 | Why are you doing this? |
| 0:27.6 | Leave us home! |
| 0:28.6 | They're still home! |
| 0:30.6 | Say! |
| 0:32.6 | Say! |
| 0:33.6 | Say! |
| 0:34.6 | Say! |
| 0:35.6 | Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. |
| 0:41.3 | I'm Dana Taylor. |
| 0:42.4 | Today is Tuesday, December 16, 2025. |
| 0:45.9 | To answer those questions and more, USA Today National Correspondents, Trevor Hughes and |
| 0:50.9 | Lauren Villagran, spent three days with ICE agents in Kansas City, part of the Chicago |
| 0:55.9 | Field Office tasked with immigration enforcement in a sprawling six-state region of the Midwest. |
| 1:02.4 | I will mention here that some of the agents profiled here were not comfortable using their full |
... |
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