Bennet Announces Legislation to Rein in DHS, ICE, and CBP

Jan 27, 2026| Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet announced that he is developing legislation to impose new guardrails and accountability measures for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

"President Trump has unleashed his federal forces on American cities with no accountability and no regard for the rule of law. Under the auspices of investigating fraud, Trump has sent thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis alone. These officers swore an oath to uphold the Constitution as they enforce our immigration laws, not patrol our streets in masks and unmarked vehicles, snatch people from their homes, destroy private property, or leave people dead in the street," said Bennet. "We must rein in Trump, Kristi Noem, and Stephen Miller's DHS. We must defend the Constitution, the rule of law, and the dignity of human life."

This legislation, currently under development, would:

• Prohibit the use of DHS funds to detain children and strengthen protections for minors;
• Require warrants to enter homes;
• Preserve and uphold Constitutional protections for detainees - including access to legal counsel - and ensure accountability for those who break the law;
• Restrict DHS operations to the enforcement of immigration law;
• Enhance hiring, training, and performance standards and requirements for federal immigration agents;
• Reinstate policies to ensure Members of Congress have access to detention facilities without advanced notice; and
• Limit DHS's ability to unilaterally expand detention facilities.

In an effort to ensure Colorado's voice is central to the national discussion, Bennet's office has launched a statewide listening tour to gather feedback on immigration policy priorities. These discussions are aimed at engaging local leaders, immigration service providers, advocates, and others to share ideas about how to push back on the Trump Administration's inhumane policies and tactics.

Bennet has consistently fought the Trump Administration's punitive immigration policies. Bennet continues to call on Secretary Noem to resign. In February 2025, Bennet joined his Senate colleagues to introduce the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would reinstate DHS's long-standing policies to prevent ICE from making arrests at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and places of worship. In August 2025, he joined the Immigration Enforcement Identification Safety (IEIS) Act to prohibit immigration enforcement officials from wearing masks and to require them to wear visible identification. In November 2025, Bennet joined his colleagues in introducing the bicameral Restoring Access to Detainees Act, legislation to ensure DHS allows noncitizens who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families. Earlier this month, Bennet joined his colleagues in introducing the Providing Useful Budgets for Localities to Invest in Cops by Substituting Appropriations from Federal Enforcement To Yield Results (PUBLIC SAFETY) Act, legislation to redirect nearly $75 billion in funding passed in the Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) from ICE and send it instead to local law enforcement programs to help hire and train 200,000 local police officers in communities across the country.

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