Trump Pushes to Rename ICE as "NICE" Amid Ongoing Controversy

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on April 26 to endorse a proposal to rename Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, giving the agency a friendlier-sounding acronym: NICE. The idea, first floated by conservative influencer Alyssa Marie in March, aims to force media outlets to refer to ICE agents as “NICE agents,” a branding shift that Trump enthusiastically backed with a “GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT” declaration.

While renaming a federal agency typically requires congressional approval, the Trump administration has a history of pushing executive orders to rename government bodies, such as Trump’s 2025 attempt to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

The timing of this rebranding effort is notable. ICE has been under fire nationwide following Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, which resulted in the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents earlier this year. The deaths have intensified scrutiny of ICE’s enforcement tactics and sparked calls for reform.

Congressional funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, remains in flux. Democrats have pushed for reforms tied to DHS funding in response to the Minneapolis incident. Earlier this month, the Senate passed a bill to fund DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol, but House Republicans blocked it, demanding full funding for the department. On April 23, the Senate approved a $70 billion funding package for ICE and Border Patrol for over three years, now awaiting House approval.

Despite the political wrangling, ICE’s budget has not been drastically affected because of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” passed by Congress in 2025, which allocated billions to the agency.

Trump’s endorsement of the “NICE” rebrand appears to be an attempt to soften the agency’s public image amid growing backlash, but critics will likely see it as a superficial PR stunt that fails to address the underlying issues of accountability and abuse within ICE.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. of USA TODAY reported on this story.