The 'Imperial Boomerang' May Explain Some Of ICE's More Violent Actions

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If the hyper-militarization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in places like Minneapolis looks like something out of a war zone — Iraq in the early 2000s, for example — you may not be far off: The “imperial boomerang” — a theory increasingly discussed online — describes how superpowers develop violent systems of control and surveillance in colonial territories, only to later turn those same tactics inward and use them against their own citizens.

Aimé Césaire, an influential anti-colonial voice from Martinique, first used the phrase in 1950 to illustrate how the brutality of empire eventually “boomeranged” back to Europe in the form of fascism.

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Césaire argued that Hitler’s invasion and domination of neighboring European countries was, in many ways, a replay of what European powers had done in the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa — only this time directed at Europeans themselves. Mass surveillance, forced labor and genocide, long used in colonial rule, slipped in and became the norm within Europe.

A similar dynamic is evident in the U.S. government’s deployment of ICE agents and surveillance tactics within its own borders. In cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles, ICE agents have deployed chemical irritants early in confrontations with protesters, used so-called less-lethal munitions at protesters (some who’ve been blinded), and are utilizing facial detection apps, databases, cell phone trackers, and drones to track immigrants and protesters. (The same thing happened in the efforts to suppress Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.)

The feds have also drawn on counterterrorism strategies used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) whe