Donald Trump Backs Renaming Immigration and Customs Enforcement to National ICE

(UNITED STATES) — President Donald Trump endorsed a proposal to rename Immigration and Customs Enforcement as National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, backing a rebrand that would change the agency’s acronym from ICE to NICE.

Trump signaled his support in an April 26, 2026, Truth Social post responding to a viral proposal to add “National” to the agency’s name. “GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT. President DJT.” he wrote.

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, confirmed the president’s support on April 27, 2026, saying the administration was exploring ways to “modernize the agency’s identity” to better reflect its mission and “ensure media accuracy” when referring to officers. A DHS spokesperson said on April 28, 2026 that the department was “reviewing the President’s directive regarding the use of secondary titles for branding and public-facing communications.”

The effort centers on public presentation rather than an announced statutory overhaul. Administration officials framed it as a branding change aimed at shifting public perception and the language used in coverage of enforcement activity, with the stated goal of pushing references to “NICE agents” instead of ICE agents.

A permanent name change for a federal agency typically requires an act of Congress. The administration, however, has already used executive authority to adopt secondary titles for federal departments, including a September 2025 order allowing the Department of Defense to use “Department of War” as a secondary title on signage, letterheads and press releases.

The proposal arrives after Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 1, on July 4, 2025. The law directed approximately $170 billion toward immigration enforcement and imposed new, non-waivable fees for immigration benefits.

Those policy changes have unfolded alongside a sharp rise in enforcement activity. By April 2026, at least 29 individuals had died in ICE custody during fiscal year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, 2025, surpassing the record set in 2004.

Removal figures also climbed. Through April 4, the agency had carried out 234,236 removals in the first half of fiscal year 2026, a 74% increase from the same period a year earlier.

Detention levels rose with them. The number of people held in immigration detention reached approximately 70,000 in early 2026, up from roughly 40,000 at the start of 2025.

That enforcement buildout has coincided with tighter screening and higher costs across the immigration system. USCIS issued internal guidance on April 27, 2026, mandating enhanced criminal history record information for all fingerprint-based background checks and directing officers to resubmit fingerprints for pending cases, including green card and naturalization applications filed before that date.

Asylum seekers also face new charges under H.R. 1. The law set a $100 non-waivable application fee and an additional $100 annual fee for every year an asylum case remains pending.

High-profile enforcement operations have added to the scrutiny around the agency’s image. “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis drew attention after fatal shootings of U.S. citizens and residents during enforcement actions earlier in 2026, and the fallout led to Kristi Noem’s replacement by Markwayne Mullin as DHS secretary in March 2026.

The push to rename Immigration and Customs Enforcement has landed in that broader climate, with deportations, detention growth and in-custody deaths defining the agency more than any logo or acronym. A shift to National Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not, on its own, alter the legal authorities behind arrests, detention or removals.

Congress would still control any formal rewrite of the agency’s statutory name. Without that step, the administration’s clearest path is the same one it used for secondary titles elsewhere in government: changing how departments present themselves on official materials and in public communications.

Federal agencies have already begun signaling where updates would appear if the administration proceeds. USCIS posts fee changes and interim rules in the [USCIS Newsroom](https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom), the White House publishes executive actions and fact sheets in its [briefing room](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room), and DHS releases department statements and enforcement announcements on its [news page](https://www.dhs.gov/news).

Trump’s endorsement turned an online slogan into an active White House and DHS review within two days. Whether ICE remains the legal name or NICE becomes the public face, the proposal has emerged at a moment when the agency’s reach, budget and death toll have all moved in the same direction.