1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

ICE's arrests of over 2,200 immigrants in a single day, including hundreds enrolled in the Alternative to Detention program who were falsely lured to ICE offices under the pretense of routine check-ins, is a deeply concerning abuse of power. Arresting individuals who have been deemed not to pose public safety threats and are compliantly participating in monitoring programs is an unjustifiable overreach. Many of those arrested did not have final orders of removal and were merely seeking asylum or exercising their legal rights. This indiscriminate dragnet approach, driven by arbitrary numerical arrest quotas from the White House rather than judicious enforcement prioritizing legitimate threats, undermines due process and sows fear in immigrant communities. Individuals are now afraid to appear for court dates or check-ins, hampering their ability to navigate the legal immigration system properly. ICE should focus its limited resources on genuine public safety priorities rather than exploiting and detaining refugees and asylum seekers playing by the rules. I urge you to condemn these mass arrests, ensure ICE cannot continue deceiving and detaining participants in legal monitoring programs, and rectify this violation of civil liberties by upholding constitutional protections for all people in the United States. A course correction is desperately needed.