The case of Adam Boyd, an ICE attorney who resigned for “moral” reasons has recently gotten some attention. Mr. Boyd noted that “We still need good attorneys at ICE. There are drug traffickers and national-security threats and human-rights violators in our country who need to be dealt with. But we are now focusing on numbers over all else.” In other words, Mr. Boyd felt he could no longer work for an agency that has shifted its focus from deporting criminals, to one that is focused largely on removing anyone they can get their hands on.
Mr. Boyd’s situation exemplifies the dilemma faced by many federal employees whose jobs involve immigration enforcement–at ICE, DHS, DOJ, USCIS, and other agencies: is it possible to continue in the job and still be a moral person? During most of the first Trump Administration, I think the answer to this question was generally “yes.” This time around, I am not so sure.