If the same level of competence and professionalism that ICE is exhibiting were present in other fields of work in our country, society would collapse. ICE has summarily executed two U.S. citizens in a month. At this rate, we should see another before the Super Bowl.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the following:
PROFESSIONALISM:
the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well
DISCIPLINE:
control gained by enforcing obedience or order; behavior in accordance with rules : orderly conduct; self-control
COMPETENCE:
having requisite or adequate ability or qualities [to serve a given role]
I think it is fair to say that ICE has demonstrated neither professionalism, discipline, nor competence. In fact, they have demonstrated the complete opposite of professionalism, discipline, and competence.
The mission of ICE that American voters expected in November of 2024 was to find violent law offenders, who happened to not legally be in the U.S., and deport them. Since the Trump Administration came to power in 2025, ICE has deported many people who were in the U.S. legally, they’ve arrested American citizens including the family members of Veterans, and Veterans themselves, and they’ve murdered American Citizens for exercising rights guaranteed in the Constitution (see clarification note at the end of this essay).
Before I describe the root cause of the incompetence of ICE, let me draw some analogies to other professions now.
Airline pilot:
Job description: fly passengers from New York to Chicago safely.
If they performed like ICE does: “Airline pilots” show up to fly in hoodies wearing masks, and instead crash the plane near Atlanta, twice in the same month.
Doctor:
Job description: treat your patient’s high blood pressure.
If they performed like ICE: “Doctors” dressed as masked tech bros amputated the patient’s mother’s left arm one week, and accidentally prescribed garlic supplements to the patient’s dog the next week.
Financial Advisor:
Job description: open a bank account with my $5000 deposit.
If they performed like ICE: The “Financial Advisor,” wearing a mask and an aloha shirt, takes your money to the casino and bets $2500 on the only horse with three legs, and bets the rest on the Cleveland Browns winning the Super Bowl - in 2026.
Aerospace Engineer:
Job description: design an airplane.
If they performed like ICE: The “engineer,” in a tank top, but still for some reason is wearing a mask, builds a crappy two-legged coffee table in your neighbors house, leaves nails and sawdust all over the living room floor. And then blows up your car.
Nutritionist:
Job description: provide healthy diet recommendations.
If they performed like ICE: Recommends a 12 pack per day to you and your kids.
Meteorologist:
Job description: analyze weather data, provide forecast.
If they performed like ICE: looks out the window, see blue sky and tell the entire country it’s a beach day.
Starting NFL Quarterback:
Job description: score a touchdown.
If they performed like ICE: when hiked the ball, they turn around an run to the opponents end zone, in fact, scoring a touch down. And then they do it again a week later.
Stay at Home Mom:
Job description: take care of and raise kids.
If they performed like ICE: “Mom” puts her mask on and leaves the house with kids at home. The doors are unlocked, the fireplace is on, and each kid has two tasers with which to “keep order” while she’s gone.
… and in all cases, the airline pilots, doctor, banker, engineer, nutritionist, meteorologist, quarterback, and mom yell at you, or perhaps beat you, arrest you, or kill you, for questioning their authority on anything at all, ever.
We can go on, obviously. Let’s change gears though, and analyze where this incompetence and unprofessionalism originates. Leaders set the tone for their organizations, in terms of competence, organization, integrity and attitude. At the top of ICE, we had Secretary Kristi Noem, and Greg Bovino. These were two cartoon characters presenting themselves as some sort of Barbie border sheriff in the case of Secretary Noem, and a self stylized Nazi-looking officer of sorts, in the case of Mr. Bovino. These two people are a joke that isn’t funny at all. These two hired the least competent among us to be ICE officers, as fast as possible, armed them, and deployed them to America’s streets.
But where did Secretary Noem and Mr. Bovino come from? They were appointed by Trump and his Administration. Trump, an adjudicated sex offender, who has associated with child traffickers for decades, chose the leaders of the departments of his Administration. Trump has neither shame nor competence. It shows in his decisions, and it is, in fact, what makes him invincible to attacks based on virtue. He gets advice from people who are also incompetent, most notably Stephen Miller, who has a less than a grade school understanding of social connections, humanity and global order. Mr. Miller has a juvenile infatuation with cruelty, that he thinks is the root of power.
According to U.C. Berkley’s Executive Education program: “When CEOs, boards, and corporate leaders exemplify integrity, they lay the groundwork for ethical behavior. The opposite is also true. Unethical actions by employees can result from unethical behavior at the top.”
This sentiment is echoed throughout organizational and leadership training centers. Here are a couple more for your review:
In the The Necessity of Grit and Hardiness in Leading with Character, Celeste Luning and Andrew Ledford of the United States Naval Academy, say: “The leader sets the tone for those within the organization to respond to both daily as well as catastrophic challenges with strength, grace, and determination to persist toward both individual and shared goals of the followers. Moreover, the grit and hardiness of the leader can have a trickle-down effect to the followers, at least within the setting of the organization, helping followers to respond with strength and resolve to the obstacles that they face. Over time, these values can become infused as part of the value-system of the organization, the cultural identity of the organization.”
From the Camp Pendleton website itself, the Marine Corps Leadership Principles are:
Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement
Be Technically and Tactically Proficient
Know Your People and Look Out for Their Welfare
Keep Your Personnel Informed
Set the Example
Ensure That the Task is Understood, Supervised, and Accomplished
Train Your Marines and Sailors as a Team
Make Sound and Timely Decisions
Develop a Sense of Responsibility Among Your Subordinates
Employ Your Command Within its Capabilities
Seek Responsibilities and Take Responsibility
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security fail every single one of these points.
The United States of America has many successful and storied leadership academies, from West Point, to our many universities, and even private leadership laboratories.
We Americans love the topic of leadership. With sound leadership, companies can flourish, wars can be won, and civil rights movements can succeed. Many, many, people in the United States who are alive today have studied at and contributed to these leadership centers of excellence, so, we know better.
Many more people than me, who are more studied in leadership than me, can come to these same conclusions. So, I would like to turn this on us. We voted for this generation of American leaders in 2024. I, of course did not vote for this set of leaders, but we collectively as a nation did vote for them. These people reflect us, our decisions, and the values we choose to elevate. The good news is that, in America, for now, we citizens still lead. It’s on us to do something about this.
What can we do? Remember, Trump and his staff have no shame, so they won’t respond to the arguments I’ve presented here. Don’t waste time presenting them to anyone in the administration. What we can do right now, is:
Embody the virtues of good leadership in our daily lives, with a full recognition that nobody is perfect. But that’s where that “seeking self improvement virtue” comes in.
Send a market signal to the leadership of companies enabling the Administration’s worst actions. Marketing professor and tech investor Scott Galloway has outlined this thesis here:
And he provides a list of boycott actions to take this week here:
https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com/
Finally, share this list, tell your friends, and be visible in your resistance.
Note: some may say that because one of the Americans murdered by ICE, Alex Pretti, yelled at and kicked the car of ICE agents in the week prior to his death, he was perhaps less “innocent.” I don’t support kicking at an official vehicle, but I also do not think this warrants a road-side death penalty, to include 10 or so bullets while he was already apprehended.
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