1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate Congressional action to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the fatal shooting of a 51-year-old man by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday. This marks the second fatal shooting by ICE in the Twin Cities in recent weeks, after 37-year-old Renee Good was killed on January 7 when an ICE officer fired into her vehicle. These incidents occurred just over a mile apart. The Department of Homeland Security has described this as its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation, deploying thousands of officers to Minnesota. Governor Tim Walz has demanded that President Trump "pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota," characterizing them as exactly that: violent and untrained. When protesters gathered after Saturday's shooting, federal officers wielded batons, deployed flash bangs on the crowd, and one officer mockingly told protesters "Boo hoo" as he walked away. This behavior demonstrates a complete lack of professional standards and accountability. Two people are now dead in Minnesota within weeks. Minneapolis has experienced daily protests since the first shooting, with thousands taking to the streets in frigid weather demanding federal law enforcement leave the city. As one Minneapolis resident stated at the scene, "They're killing my neighbors!" This is not hyperbole. This is the reality of ICE operations in our communities. Congress has the power of the purse. I am asking you to take immediate action to defund ICE and support legislation to dismantle this agency entirely. The pattern of violence, the lack of training, and the absence of accountability make reform impossible. These operations are resulting in the deaths of community members, and every day Congress delays action is another day these violent, untrained officers remain in our neighborhoods. I need to know where you stand on defunding ICE and what specific actions you will take to stop these killings.