1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to immediately investigate the alarming weapons stockpiling by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and to take action to freeze their assets and halt further weapons acquisitions. A recent report by Senator Adam Schiff reveals that ICE and CBP have approved contracts for at least $144 million in weapons, ammunition, and accessories during Trump's first year in office. This represents a fourfold increase for ICE and a doubling for CBP compared to 2024. These contracts include millions for precision long guns and AR-style rifles with military specifications from Geissele Automatics, millions in handguns and accessories from Glock, over $30 million in ammunition, and more than $25 million in so-called non-lethal weapons including Tasers, pepper spray, and tear gas. This massive surge in weaponry is being placed in the hands of agents with questionable vetting and insufficient training. Experts warn that this represents the transformation of the Department of Homeland Security from an agency protecting against external threats into a heavily armed domestic police force. Donald Moynihan describes this as filling warehouses with people and using weapons to control American cities, while Rosa Brooks warns that Trump is building a poorly trained paramilitary force that could easily take on a life of its own. The parallels to the post-9/11 security apparatus are deeply concerning. Once such massive bureaucracies are established with billions in federal funding and private contractor relationships, they become extremely difficult to dismantle. We are creating a self-perpetuating system that will outlast any single administration. I urge you to demand immediate congressional oversight, freeze further weapons procurement contracts, and initiate a full investigation into the vetting and training standards for agents receiving these military-grade weapons. The American people deserve answers about why a domestic immigration enforcement agency requires this level of armament and what safeguards exist to prevent abuse.