1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge immediate congressional action to prevent misuse of the Insurrection Act. The President has explicitly threatened to invoke this law in response to protests in Minneapolis arising from federal immigration enforcement operations. This is not a hypothetical concern but a stated intent that requires action now, before invocation occurs. The Insurrection Act was designed for extreme circumstances when actual insurrection or widespread violence makes it impossible to enforce federal law, or when states cannot protect constitutional rights. These conditions do not exist in Minnesota. Federal immigration operations continue, ICE is making arrests, courts remain open, and state and local governments are fully operational. Minnesota's governor and local officials have repeatedly urged peaceful protest and de-escalation. Peaceful protest, even when loud or disruptive, does not constitute insurrection. Courts have been clear on this point. The presence of demonstrators near federal operations does not meet the Act's statutory threshold. I am deeply concerned about evidence suggesting escalation is being manufactured as pretext, including unprecedented deployment of armed federal agents, inflammatory rhetoric from senior officials, and efforts to blame state leaders for violence they are actively working to prevent. While courts provide an important check, litigation takes time. Damage to civil liberties, public trust, and federal-state relations can occur long before any judicial ruling. Congress is the only branch with authority to impose prospective limits on this power. I urge you to act immediately by clarifying and narrowing the statutory definition of insurrection, requiring time limits and automatic congressional approval for continued deployments, mandating public findings and transparency prior to invocation, and using funding authority to prevent misuse of domestic military deployments. This is not about partisan politics or immigration policy. It is about preserving constitutional boundaries and preventing the normalization of military force in domestic political disputes. Waiting until after invocation is waiting too long. Congress must act now to protect American citizens from the threat of military deployment against peaceful protesters.