No, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Did Not Endorse Trump

Donald Trump boasted Monday night that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had endorsed him. They did not.

BETSY WOODRUFF

09.27.16 1:21 PM ET

Last night in the debate, Donald Trump accidentally accused his favorite federal agency of breaking the law. “I was just endorsed by ICE,” he boasted about two-thirds of the way through the presidential debate, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. “They’ve never endorsed anybody before on immigration. I was just endorsed by ICE. I was just recently endorsed—16,500 Border Patrol agents.”

It would have been a historic endorsement. If it had actually happened. But it didn’t.

“Per the Hatch Act, federal agencies are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity including the endorsement of any candidate for office,” said ICE spokeswoman Sarah Rodriguez. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not and will not endorse any candidate for office.”

So Trump’s statement at the debate wasn’t just false; it was patently ludicrous. ICE is the federal agency responsible for enforcing America’s immigration laws (as its name would suggest). ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and its agents oversee deportations and border enforcement.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/27/no-the-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-did-not-endorse-trump.html