Trump associate allegedly tapped ICE to settle a personal score
A longtime Trump associate reportedly reached out to immigration officials to help detain and deport his ex-girlfriend; not as part of some sweeping policy goal, but because they were locked in a custody battle over their child.
According to reporting, a senior ICE official quickly moved to ensure she was picked up and held, noting the case mattered to someone close to the White House.
He reached out to a top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, explaining that his ex was in the country illegally, according to records obtained by The New York Times and a person familiar with the communications. Could she be put in ICE detention? That could help him get his son back.
The official, David Venturella, promptly called the agency’s Miami office to ensure that ICE agents would pick up the woman from the jail before she was released on bail, according to the records and a person with knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity to discuss it. During the call, Mr. Venturella noted that the case was important to someone close to the White House.
The woman, Amanda Ungaro, was placed in ICE custody and ultimately deported, an outcome that may well have happened regardless of Mr. Zampolli’s meddling. But the ICE official’s willingness to spring into action for a Trump ally — even one in a low-level, largely ceremonial role — reflects a recurring theme of the second Trump administration: The levers of the federal government can be pulled to settle a personal score.
Law enforcement and personal favors have become awfully mixed up.
I am skirting the pits of despair.
This kind of thing used to be a scandal and result in jail time for the perps. I think some people underestimated how quickly the felon and his cronies could not only break the country but make the broken condition seem normal.