The current agitation by protesters focused on banning ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) seems misguided in view of the fact the separation of children from their parents at the border they complain about has been halted and was actually done by Border Patrol Agents, whereas ICE is responsible for the deportation of immigrants arrested for subsequent criminal conduct such as drug dealing or gang activity. Are these protests a spontaneous humanitarian outreach or something sinister?

Your description is, in its way, somewhat simplistic in the way theirs is, but on the positive side, all such activities by humans working for the government, and law enforcement in particular, have their problematical aspects. There are, in addition to great inefficiencies, excesses that do occur where harsh treatment happens, people are redirected and misdirected in ways that have very adverse consequences and great harm can come to them when things are handled in an insensitive manner. One can expect nothing less from a bureaucracy which is very much the nature of this organization and being designed to reign in criminality, it is not staffed by the most sensitive, loving of beings. They are in their job to be an opposition to wrongdoing and deal with many tough customers. It is no different than other branches of law enforcement. No one proposes eliminating the police force because there is a citizen killed during a traffic stop in mysterious circumstances or even when there is clear evidence of excessive force used by an officer. The reality is the offending individual needs to be taken to task for the wrongdoing and disciplined as an example. So the proposal to abandon the system is ill-advised given the large onslaught of immigration with many evildoers among them, primarily those involved with child trafficking and drug dealing and the would-be gang members who will add to the crime problem already present in many areas of the country. This is truly a multidimensional problem needing a multidimensional solution. An easy fix will not be effective and certainly not the abolition of ICE. All such institutions can be improved and reformed in various ways, but all do serve some useful purpose as well.