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

I am asking you to seek a full, independent account of ICE’s treatment of Atilio Portillo in Charlotte and to press for meaningful accountability if agents violated the law or agency policy. Portillo says agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded his truck, smashed its windows, aimed guns at him, and forcibly removed him. He and his U.S.-citizen nephew were handcuffed while agents checked their status. ICE has said agents were looking for Portillo’s brother, but that does not answer why force was used against Portillo, what legal basis supported the stop, or whether agents followed their own rules. Video reported by local news appears to show an officer draw a handgun and point it toward the truck. The public deserves a transparent investigation, not unanswered questions. This case touches a principle central to the American story long before the Revolution: government power must not be arbitrary. Colonists objected to broad writs of assistance that allowed officials to search without specific limits. Their resistance helped establish the expectation that government must justify searches and seizures and respect individual liberty. That history should matter when armed federal agents stop people on the street. A person’s skin color must never substitute for individualized evidence or lawful grounds. The concern extends beyond one encounter. North Carolina reporting has documented a sharp rise in ICE arrests, expanded cooperation between local jails and federal immigration authorities, and fear affecting families, schools, businesses, and access to health care. When people are afraid to drive, attend school, seek medical help, or comply with official appointments, enforcement damages trust and public safety across entire communities, including citizens and lawful residents. Please request preservation and release of body-camera and vehicle-camera footage, dispatch records, the legal basis for the stop, and the agency’s use-of-force review. Ask the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general and Congress to investigate, hold a public briefing, and report whether agents complied with law and policy. Support clear identification requirements, limits on unnecessary force, and a reliable complaint process with protection against retaliation. Accountability is not opposition to law enforcement. It is how a free country ensures that enforcement is lawful, restrained, and equal. Please act promptly and keep constituents informed.