ICE Investigates Menacing Ace of Spades Cards

Immigration and Customs Enforcement superiors are condemning the actions of an officer or officers who placed menacing ace of spades playing cards in the vehicles of detainees in Colorado, reports the Denver Post. Families of detainees in Eagle County found the cards, emblazoned with the name and address of the Denver ICE office, in the vehicles after the drivers were arrested. As CBS News explains, the "death cards" are seen as an intimidation tactic and were used in similar fashion by US soldiers during the Vietnam War after members of the Viet Cong were killed.

ICE "unequivocally condemned" the incident, saying supervisors "acted swiftly to address the issue," according to a statement provided to Axios on Friday by a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. "The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility will conduct a thorough investigation and will take appropriate and swift action," the statement said. The advocacy group Voces Unidas first made the matter public. "Leaving a racist death card behind for families to find is just sickening," said Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of Voces Unidas. "This is evil, this is cruel." All of this unfolded before the fatal weekend shooting of another protester in Minneapolis.