Durbin Blasts Kristi Noem On Targeting, Racial Profiling Of American Citizens By ICE Agents

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called out U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on her department's threats to American citizens, as well as misstatements of law by senior Trump Administration officials.

In a letter to Noem, Durbin wrote: "I am outraged at the repeated targeting and racial profiling of U.S. citizens facing warrantless searches and detainment by federal immigration authorities. I am also deeply concerned by misstatements of law by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Chief Gregory Bovino-the senior Trump Administration official responsible for overseeing a series of broadly criticized immigration enforcement actions across multiple states… To state the obvious, we are not a 'papers, please' country. American citizens generally do not have 'immigration documents,' and to require them to carry such documents to avoid being violently stopped or interrogated by federal immigration agents is absurd and unconstitutional. There is no requirement in the law for U.S. citizens to carry identification to avoid arbitrary arrest and detention."

Durbin continued by outlining applicable law and court decisions, writing: "The founders included explicit protections from unreasonable searches and seizures in the U.S. Constitution to prevent the types of arbitrary and indiscriminate arrests of U.S. citizens that are currently occurring in American cities. The Immigration and Nationality Act gives an immigration agent limited authority to question individuals that the agent has a reason to believe are noncitizens as to their right to be or remain in the United States. However, as Justice Kavanaugh noted in his concurrence in Vasquez Perdomo v. Dep't of Homeland Security, '[t]o be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion.' He also stated that, 'reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status. If the person is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after a brief encounter.' Unfortunately, these caveats have not prevented an escalating number of arbitrary stops, arrests, and detentions of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents."

Durbin then highlighted the violent arrest of Mubashir, a 20-year-old Somali American in Minnesota. Video shows masked agents tackling Mubashir-who had stepped out for his lunch break-handcuffing him, and dragging him through the snow before placing him in a chokehold and pulling him into an unmarked SUV.

Mubashir is just one case of agents approaching numerous non-white individuals recently in Minneapolis and asking them where they were born and for their identification.

Durbin then contextualized these threats to American citizens, writing: "The Department's cavalier attitude towards the law continues to lead to frequent abuses against American citizens… Immigration officials are targeting Black and Brown individuals and ignoring their desperate attempts to assert their citizenship-sometimes as they are chased, thrown to the ground, pulled into unmarked vehicles by masked men, handcuffed, and held for hours, even days."

Durbin then shared the story of Maria Greeley-a U.S. citizen and Chicago resident-who was detained and restrained outside of her workplace, even after she provided documentation confirming her citizenship. Additionally, he offered the stories of Javier Ramirez, Leonardo Garcia, and Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales.

Durbin concluded with an admonishment of these practices, before making a series of information requests, writing: "Terrifying experiences like these undoubtedly will become more commonplace for American citizens unless the Department abides by the law and reins in its reckless immigration enforcement operations. Please immediately issue a correction to the Department's false statement that U.S. citizens must carry proof of citizenship and immediately instruct your employees that unconstitutional 'citizen checks' are not permitted and must immediately cease. Please also ensure that your law enforcement agents, including Mr. Bovino, receive sufficient training in how to constitutionally enforce the law."

For a PDF of the letter to Secretary Noem, click here.

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