Reed: ICE Reforms & Guardrails Needed to Protect the Rights of All Americans

WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to uphold our constitutional principles and protect the rights of all Americans, U.S. Senator Jack Reed called on Congressional Republicans to join Democrats in passing a series of commonsense reforms to rein in the Trump Administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Americans have seen with their own eyes how excessively aggressive and unaccountable masked ICE agents have been operating under the Trump Administration. Instead of targeting people with criminal records, ICE has wrongfully trampled on due process, targeted and detained legal residents, asylum seekers, children, and in some cases U.S. citizens.

To rein in ICE and keep it in line with the same basic standards of conduct that applies to other law enforcement agencies Senator Reed is urging several key reforms and guardrails, including stronger accountability; a stop to roving, masked agents terrorizing cities; and real oversight that curtails overly aggressive tactics and holds agents accountable if they use excessive force. Reed says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also needs a change in leadership and that it undercuts national security and undermines public safety when senior Trump officials blatantly lie to the American people and try to gaslight the public into believing that protestors are 'domestic terrorists.'

"ICE is supposed to uphold the law, but under the Trump Administration we have seen out of control ICE agents routinely flout the law and brutally break it with no accountability. Americans have witnessed unspeakable acts of violence against innocent people, including peaceful protestors, legal residents, and American citizens who have wrongfully been beaten, intimidated, detained, and even killed. This is a gross overreach of power by the Trump Administration that threatens the rights of all Americans. The chaos and violence must stop and Trump's masked ICE agents must be reined in with enforceable restraints," said Reed.

The proposed ICE restrictions and guardrails Senator Reed is backing include:

• Requiring ICE agents to wear and use body cameras, just like local police
• Removing masks and limiting the concealment of agents' identities
• Ending warrantless, roving patrols
• Protecting schools, hospitals, and places of worship from ICE
• Preventing racial profiling
• Prohibiting the wrongful detainment or deportation of American citizens

Reed noted it is not just Renee Good and Alex Pretti who have been victims of abusive ICE operations in Minnesota. There are many more cases of American citizens being mistreated by ICE, such as Ramon Menera and Scott Thao.

"Those sworn to uphold the law should not be lawless. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration gave out-of-control ICE agents a blank check and a green light to do whatever they want in order to meet the Administration's arbitrary quotas for deportation. Americans can see for themselves that Secretary Noem and ICE have no accountability. ICE is stopping and interrogating people about their immigration status without a warrant and just trampling on their rights. If ICE can just grab you from your home without a warrant, detain you in the cold without evidence, and force you to produce paperwork to prove your innocence instead of them going through the proper legal steps - then it undercuts every American's freedom," said Reed.

Lawmakers from both political parties have until February 13, when federal funding for DHS expires, to find a solution and pass a set of ICE reforms and prevent a federal shutdown of all DHS operations.

"Democrats are at the table. We sent fully drafted, specific legislation, but Trump and the Republicans responded with vague and unwritten commentary. Republicans are the ones who decide if votes will be scheduled and they are the ones who decide whether to pass overdue reforms, or shut down important components of the federal government. I hope Congressional Republicans will listen to the American people and help Democrats enact these overdue reforms," said Reed.

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