{"pk":65665,"title":"Accountability for ICE Officials: An Analysis of Existing and Proposed Civil Causes of Action Under Federal Law","subtitle":null,"abstract":"<p>As the size and scope of immigration enforcement operations grow across the country, so does the risk of official misconduct. This article examines the legal remedies an individual can pursue to obtain relief for damages caused by officials of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. While there were once viable pathways for pursuing claims, recent Supreme Court decisions have made it considerably more difficult. This is demonstrated by the narrowing of Bivens actions, specifically regarding the conduct of immigration enforcement officers. Alternative remedies, such as the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), are similarly restrictive in their scope of coverage and the relief they can secure. The current system leaves individuals who experienced serious harm at the hands of ICE officials without recourse. Members of Congress have proposed legislative solutions creating new causes of action against federal officials by expanding Section 1983 of Title 42. However, these proposals are unlikely to succeed due to concerns over their national security implications and failure to address the deficiencies of Section 1983 itself. This article proposes a narrow and targeted solution ensuring accountability for ICE officers while protecting national security. The proposal creates a new cause of action against ICE officials for violating rights protected by the Constitution and federal law. The proposal also amends the FTCA, making it safer to sue under by reforming the “judgment as bar” provision and allowing for the award of punitive damages to plaintiffs.</p>","language":"eng","license":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0","short_name":"CC BY 4.0","text":"Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.\r\n\r\nNo additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0"},"keywords":[{"word":"ICE"},{"word":"immigration"},{"word":"immigration enforcement"},{"word":"damages"},{"word":"United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement"},{"word":"Bivens actions"},{"word":"Federal Torts Claims Act"},{"word":"cause of action"}],"section":"Article","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0nk7f35c","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Aidan","middle_name":"","last_name":"Metcalfe","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":""}],"date_submitted":"2026-05-12T02:03:01.043325Z","date_accepted":"2026-05-13T01:46:28.752355Z","date_published":"2026-05-13T15:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/ucsdulr/article/65665/galley/50320/download/"}]}