Policing

‘A Deliberate Attempt to Terrorize’: Former FBI Agent Asha Rangappa on What Real Law Enforcement Looks Like—and What ICE Is Not

PUBLISHED 2/17/2026 by

ICE is the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in American history—its budget larger than the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Prisons combined. Its agents wear masks, drive unmarked vehicles and operate with an impunity that has drawn comparisons to secret police forces around the world. Multiple federal courts have refused to trust the agency’s own statements of fact. And in Minneapolis, ICE agents shot and killed Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in front of their neighbors’ cameras.

Asha Rangappa has seen this movie before—just never in America.

A former FBI special agent who spent years in the bureau’s New York division, specializing in counterintelligence, Rangappa was trained to monitor threats to America. Her job required surgical precision, behavioral psychology, extraordinary patience and, above all, trust.

“The bread and butter of your work as a law enforcement agent is that you need the community’s help,” she told me. “You actually can’t do your job without it.”

The Cruel and Unusual Killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti

PUBLISHED 1/27/2026 by | UPDATED 2/2/2026 at 12:53 P.M. PT

Barely two weeks apart, two American citizens have been slain in Minnesota by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Twin Cities. Their deaths raise important questions—not just about the violation of First Amendment freedoms, but also the trampling of Eighth Amendment protections that bar the government from inflicting “cruel and unusual punishment.” 

The Trump Administration’s Full-Throated Misogyny

PUBLISHED 1/15/2026 by

“Disrespectful. “Fucking bitch.” “AWFUL (Affluent White Female Urban Liberal).”

These are just a few of the insults hurled publicly at Minneapolis mother and wife Renee Nicole Good after immigration agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed her in broad daylight last week. In an effort to deflect and redirect blame, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are among the administration officials who took to the airwaves to degrade and ridicule Good, their claims ricocheting across the MAGA echo chamber.

The only civilized political response should have been a call for an independent investigation, but it seems like every MAGA with a mic is hellbent on making this a cautionary tale: Women who respond to and resist the authority of a man with a gun will get exactly what they deserve. “Fucking bitch,” possibly muttered by Ross as he let bullets fly (caught on air thanks to real-time video footage), is perhaps the most grotesque case in point.

Americans Oppose Criminalizing Abortion. Too Many Policymakers Aren’t Listening.

PUBLISHED 10/3/2025 by and

Since the Supreme Court decided on Dobbs v. Jackson and overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, more than half of U.S. states have passed laws that dramatically restrict and criminalize abortion. These laws assign criminal penalties—including fines and prison time—not only to healthcare providers who provide abortions or write prescriptions for abortion pills, but in some cases, also to people who assist abortion seekers. Yet, a growing body of research suggests these punitive measures do not reflect the views of most Americans.

War on Women Report: State Department Mass-Burns Contraceptives; GOP Budget Decimates Medicaid; Texas Crisis Pregnancy Center Funds Paid for CEO’s Smoke Shop

PUBLISHED 7/30/2025 by and

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—After a highly publicized trial, a jury acquitted music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of the most serious charges—sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
—Texas’ funding pipeline for antiabortion crisis pregnancy centers allowed CPCs to spend millions of taxpayer dollars with little oversight into how the money was used.
—A Texas man is suing a doctor in California who he claims sent abortion pills in the mail to his girlfriend.

… and more.

What Happens When Law Enforcement Is the Threat? Immigrant Women Are Left With Nowhere to Turn

PUBLISHED 7/21/2025 by

The horrifying stories in the Ms. article, “Men Are Impersonating ICE to Attack Immigrant Women,” are not isolated incidents—they reflect a deeper, long-standing erosion of human rights and protections for immigrant communities. Immigrant women of color are disproportionately targeted and bear the brunt of the violence.

Immigrant survivors are more afraid than ever to seek help from the police or the courts. And these reports of violence committed by ICE impersonators and accounts of violence committed by real ICE and law enforcement officers—many of them now in plainclothes—show that immigrants have good reason to be afraid.

At the Tahirih Justice Center, where we serve immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence, we’ve seen firsthand for years the impact of dehumanizing language and actions by politicians and the media, leading to cruel policies and paralyzing fear that traps survivors in abuse. There’s no question that in the last six months, things have gotten much worse.

Now is the moment for all of us as citizens and neighbors to loudly declare that what’s happening to immigrants is unacceptable—whether through protest, contacting our representatives or walking with our immigrant neighbor as she takes her child to school so she’s not alone.

What Comes After Roe? Fear, Surveillance and Felony Charges

PUBLISHED 6/12/2025 by

A new survey reveals that a majority of likely voters oppose policies that grant legal rights to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. They also oppose the criminalization of pregnancy loss, denial of emergency medical care and broader threats to reproductive freedom.

Yet here we are, with bills to codify those rights brewing in a quarter of U.S. states this year.

Even when they do not succeed, we cannot simply ignore them or hope their proponents call it quits. Rather, this is a prime opportunity to double down on educating people and harnessing public opinion.

Profiles in Courage: The Men and Women Who Defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 Stood Their Ground on Democracy’s Darkest Day

PUBLISHED 5/12/2025 by and

Profiles in Courage is a Ms. series honoring the extraordinary women and men who have transformed American institutions through principled public service. At a time when trust in government is fragile, these stories offer a powerful reminder of what ethical leadership looks like.

On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob unleashed chaos and destruction, attacking officers with metal pipes, chemical irritants and other makeshift weapons. Their goal was clear: force their way inside, inflict damage and disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

More than 50 United States Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers were injured, with several hospitalized due to the severity of their wounds. In the face of extreme violence and insurmountable odds, their heroic actions prevented an even greater catastrophe.

New Ms. Magazine Series ‘Profiles in Courage’ Spotlights Public Service Women and Men of Valor

PUBLISHED 5/2/2025 by and

In the halls of American government and federal law enforcement, courage often operates behind closed doors, in the quiet moments where integrity is tested, and in the difficult decisions that shape the arc of justice. Today, Ms. launches Profiles in Courage—a powerful new series spotlighting extraordinary women and men who have devoted their lives to public service and, in doing so, transformed our institutions from the inside out.

The first installment in this series honors the work and valor of DANIELLE SASSOON, former acting U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, who stepped down from her job at the Department of Justice in order to avoid carrying out a directive to drop federal corruption charges against Eric Adams.

‘Rape Club’: Trial Set for Prison Guard Accused of Sexual Abuse in Notorious California Women’s Prison

PUBLISHED 4/25/2025 by

Earlier this month, a jury of ten men and two women was unable to come to a unanimous decision after a week’s deliberation. They were judging the trial of former correctional officer Darrell Wayne Smith, nicknamed “Dirty Dick,” accused of 15 counts of sexual misconduct. Smith was the last correctional officer to be charged with abuse at the now-shut-down FCI Dublin, as part of a sprawling federal investigation that convicted seven officers, including the prison’s warden and chaplain.