The resurgence of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has led to public outrage on multiple fronts for multiple reasons, but experts are now saying they are abusing their power, which has led to trauma, abuse, and death. A report created by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley (HRC) documented 412 verified incidents of the “misuse” of these crowd-control weapons, also known as “less-lethal weapons”, from June 2025 through May 2026.
“This is a concerning story,” said Dr Rohini Haar, the lead author of the report and a PHR medical expert, in an interview with the Guardian.
The report documented 203 injuries stemming from the alleged misuse of the crowd-control weapons. Some of the injuries included blindings, traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, fractures and contusions.
Crowd Control weapons that local and federal law enforcement use are teargas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. Teargas causes temporary blindness, rubber bullets can cause significant damage to the body on impact, and pepper spray is used as a deterrent to disperse large crowds.
“The true number of injuries is likely far greater,” the report adds.
Haar explained to the Guardian that they qualified “misuse” by a number of methods. First, they tracked whether people in “protected categories”, including journalists and health workers, were targeted by officials. Next, they documented if vulnerable populations, including elderly people and children, were affected. And lastly, they tracked whether the weapons were used improperly, like using the weapons in close range, targeting people’s heads, or going against the weapons’ manufacturing guidelines.
“The involvement of state and local [authorities] is also concerning,” Haar added. “Because in many places, they’re coming on top of what is already happening with DHS. But in places like Los Angeles, there is a lot more involvement [of local law enforcement officials]”.
Now two weeks later, ICE is in hot water again, as last week agents shot and killed Lorenzo Sagrado Araujo in Houston, Texas, stating that he used his vehicle as a weapon, resulting in his death.
“We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics,” ICE said in a statement, as many people ask what their training and procedures are, as this isn’t the first time ICE has killed a civilian and used the “vehicle as a weapon” excuse to validate their actions. .
This past Monday, ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine, shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero. In a statement issued 12 hours after the shooting, ICE said Guerrero fled the scene and argued his doing so resulted in a “public safety threat” that prompted the officer to fire.
“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,” Sen. Susan Collins said.
