1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

I am writing to you both as a constituent and as a psychologist who practices and works with the children and families within the communities you represent. I am deeply alarmed by the current national government's administration’s expansion of federal immigration enforcement and the recent lethal actions by federal agents in Minnesota, which represent a dangerous escalation of state violence with inadequate accountability. The killings of civilians during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis have shaken public trust and raised serious constitutional and ethical concerns. When federal agencies operate with lethal force while simultaneously limiting independent investigation and local oversight, the result is not public safety—it is fear, trauma, and the erosion of democratic norms. As a psychologist, I am particularly compelled to speak out because history and behavioral science clearly show how quickly harm can become normalized when authority goes unchecked. Stanley Milgram’s seminal research on obedience to authority demonstrated that ordinary individuals will often comply with directives from perceived authority figures—even when those directives violate their own moral judgment and cause harm to others. Milgram’s work was explicitly motivated by the atrocities of Nazi Germany, where widespread compliance was justified by the refrain “I was just following orders.” His findings remain one of the most sobering lessons in psychology: systems, not monsters, enable atrocities. From a clinical standpoint, what we are witnessing now is the early-stage normalization of violence carried out under the banner of law and order. Dehumanizing rhetoric, moral disengagement, and institutional protection of perpetrators are well-documented precursors to large-scale human rights violations. When leaders fail to intervene early, the psychological machinery that enables harm accelerates rapidly. Drawing parallels to authoritarian regimes is not inflammatory—it is responsible. History does not repeat itself exactly, but it rhymes, and the warning signs are unmistakable: consolidation of power, suppression of dissent, erosion of oversight, and state-sanctioned violence against targeted populations. As an elected official, you have both a moral and constitutional obligation to act now. I urge you to: 1) Publicly reject and oppose the immigration enforcement practices that rely on intimidation and lethal force. 2) Demand independent, transparent investigations into federal use-of-force incidents, including those in Minnesota. 3) Support legislation that restores meaningful oversight, accountability, and civil rights protections for all individuals, regardless of immigration status. 4) Refuse further expansion of ICE authority or funding absent strict safeguards and external review. Psychology teaches us that silence from leaders functions as implicit approval. At moments like this, neutrality is not a safeguard—it is a failure of duty. I expect and demand principled leadership. We do not get a second chance to say we acted early enough.