Abstract
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) frames its operations as safeguarding national security, promoting a narrative of protecting U.S. citizens and sovereignty. This narrative serves to legitimize the ongoing settler colonial project that marginalizes non-normative groups. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latinx Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), and Latinx Criminal Theory (LatCrim), this article critiques the systemic harms inflicted by legal violence and racialized gendered punishments. Through the concept of “breaking the ICE,” it advocates for the abolition of ICE. Based on interviews conducted in 2016–2017 with ten undocumented Latinx immigrants who were detained or deported, along with seven of their family members or friends, the findings reveal that ICE’s targeting practices—shaped by intersecting ideologies of race, gender, immigration status, nationality, colorism, and sexuality—operate under a facade of race neutrality to justify discriminatory actions. Testimonios of resistance from affected individuals and their communities highlight everyday abolition strategies countering surveillance, policing, confinement, and deportation.