United States President Donald Trump has endorsed a proposal to rename Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would give the agency the acronym NICE, in a move widely seen as a branding strategy against media critics of his immigration enforcement agenda.
Trump backed the suggestion in a Truth Social post late Sunday, sharing a screenshot of a March post by conservative influencer Alyssa Marie, who wrote that she wanted the change so that media outlets would be compelled to refer to ICE agents as NICE agents every day.
While Trump has attempted similar rebranding of agencies in the past, Newsweek noted he technically does not have unilateral authority to rename ICE, as Congress would need to approve such a change. However, Fox 9 reported that a precedent exists for executive action, citing a 2007 Bush administration renaming of the agency that was processed through the Federal Register without legislation.
The proposal arrives at a turbulent moment for the agency. ICE remains unfunded amid a congressional standoff, with Democrats demanding restrictions on its operations following the deaths of two US citizens at the hands of federal agents during an immigration operation in Minneapolis in January. Senators unanimously approved a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the exception of ICE and Border Patrol, while House Republicans have resisted that approach.
The agency has also faced scrutiny over deaths in its detention facilities. According to reports from NPR cited in the source material, ICE recorded 29 detainee deaths since the start of the current fiscal year in October 2025, the highest total since the agency was founded in 2003. DHS attributed the figure to the expanded size of the detained population, which has grown to 60,000 people across a combination of existing facilities, local jails, and newly constructed detention centres.
Polling cited by Newsweek showed half of Americans consider Trump’s mass deportation campaign too aggressive, while immigration policies remain deeply unpopular among Hispanic adults, with roughly one quarter approving of his approach.
