Warner Welcomes Independent Audit of Citizenship Verification in Immigration Enforcement

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the statement below after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced a new audit to evaluate the processes that DHS law enforcement personnel follow to prevent the arrest of U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations.

"As immigration enforcement officers continue to flood American neighborhoods, I'm cautiously optimistic to see DHS's Inspector General take a hard look at how U.S. citizens are treated during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations. Too often, bystander videos show U.S. citizens and non-citizens swept up in the increasingly aggressive and dangerous enforcement actions of immigration officers who, in some cases, have denied individuals the opportunity to prove their citizenship or legal immigration status. These instances infringe on the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike, and increasingly result in damage to property, injuries, trauma, and death. Now more than ever, as immigration enforcement officers continue to hide their own identities while demanding proof of citizenship from their fellow countrymen and women, the American people deserve to know about the practices and policies that govern these interactions. I'll be closely following this investigation, including to monitor for its independence and non-partisanship."

This OIG audit follows strong advocacy by Sen. Warner, who last year pushed the DHS Inspector General to launch an investigation into the Department's stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens, and demanded greater clarity from the Trump administration after a U.S. citizen and Virginia resident was handcuffed and detained despite attempting to prove his citizenship status.

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