1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

A federal judge recently had to temporarily suspend a Trump administration policy that required seven days' notice for Congress members to visit ICE facilities. This policy represents a deliberate attempt to obstruct congressional oversight and hide conditions inside detention centers from elected representatives and the public. When an agency requires advance warning before allowing inspection, it signals they have something to hide. ICE has operated with impunity for too long, separating families, detaining people in inhumane conditions, and violating basic human rights with minimal accountability. The need to legally block congressional access demonstrates the agency's fundamental incompatibility with democratic oversight and constitutional principles. No law enforcement agency should be able to prevent elected officials from conducting surprise inspections of facilities where people are held in custody. The pattern is clear. ICE consistently resists transparency, fights oversight, and operates detention facilities that fail to meet basic standards of human dignity. Reports of inadequate medical care, family separation, and prolonged detention without due process have emerged repeatedly. An agency that must hide its operations from congressional scrutiny has lost any claim to legitimacy. I am calling on you to support the immediate disbandment of ICE. This is not about immigration enforcement, which can be handled by existing agencies with proper oversight and accountability. This is about ending an agency that has demonstrated it cannot operate within constitutional bounds or respect human rights. The recent attempt to block congressional visits is just the latest example of an agency that believes it operates above the law. Congress has the power to defund and dismantle ICE. I urge you to use that power now. Introduce or co-sponsor legislation to abolish ICE and transfer its essential functions to agencies that will operate with transparency and respect for human dignity. Every day this agency continues to operate, more people suffer under conditions that should not exist in this country.