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Faculty & Experts
20 February 2026

Power, Policing, and Borders: Rethinking ICE in an International Law Perspective

In the 18 February 2026 episode of the Geneva Graduate Institute's What Matters Today podcast, Vincent Chetail, Professor of International Law and Director of the Global Migration Centre, considers the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency known as ICE from a historical and legal perspective. 

In the wake of the protests that erupted in Minneapolis, national and international conversations have intensified around the nature of state power, policing, and the institutions responsible for enforcing migration policies in the United States. In this episode of What Matters Today, host Dan Graham and Professor Vincent Chetail turn their attention to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE, to explore the circumstances of its creation in 2003 and how its practices have evolved over the past two decades. They also examine how recent allegations surrounding ICE’s treatment of migrants might be understood through the lens of international law and human rights obligations. 

Power, Policing, and Borders: Rethinking ICE in an International Law Perspective