> where they can use ICE to hammer their enemies

Only Trump has really done this. ICE was created in the wake of 9/11 and didn't exist before then.

Before Trump we had Bush and Obama presiding over ICE - the 9/11 aftermath heavily influenced both of their administration policies on deportation (in both cases, pretty hardline).

Before ICE, deportation was mostly a matter for lawyers and judges, and not full of smashed car windows and gun fights, by chuds that make mall-cops look like Marines by comparison.

The weaponization of ICE against political enemies is new and dangerous

We can certainly blame congress for not doing reform, but also it's really hard. The immigration system is probably the most complex legal and bureaucratic regime in the country