1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

ICE Accountability Now: Use of Force, Detention Deaths, and Unchecked Funding I am writing to request stronger congressional oversight of immigration enforcement, based on many serious and disturbing problems that have been documented involving use of force, racial profiling, detention deaths, and transparency.  It is distressing for Americans to wonder how long Congress will allow this abhorrent behavior to go on unchecked. Use of force: A ProPublica investigation documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering vehicle windows during arrests—a tactic experts say was rarely used before the current administration.  Separately, ICE plans to purchase between $10 million and $20 million worth of electric-shock gloves known as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter). The CT-G5 model identified in the procurement materials is capable of producing up to 380 volts. The planned purchase is intended for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations divisions. Such a purchase can only lead to even more inhumane and cruel treatment of immigrants. Conduct and language: Body-camera footage and text messages submitted in ACLU court filings in the Central District of California show federal immigration agents using racial slurs and derogatory language when referring to Latino individuals during enforcement operations, including a term referencing agents striking migrants. The material was submitted in support of a motion alleging an ongoing pattern of race-based profiling in immigration stops.  Detention deaths: In the 500 days from January 20, 2025, through June 4, 2026, 52 people died in ICE custody—the highest mortality rate in more than a decade and more than twice the rate during the first Trump administration.  Deaths have occurred at multiple facilities, including Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss, Delaney Hall in Newark, Florence Correctional Center, and Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Researchers have identified disrupted oversight, rapid expansion of detention, overcrowding, and delayed medical care as factors warranting investigation.  At Delaney Hall, a particularly troubling transparency issue has emerged. Jose Chajon-Raxon was hospitalized after a medical emergency shortly after entering ICE custody and was released from ICE custody on July 22. He subsequently died. ICE says it does not consider his death an in-custody death because he had been released. DHS has also changed its reporting policy so that deaths occurring within 30 days after release are no longer necessarily reported as ICE custody deaths.  Funding: Congress has provided ICE with extraordinary levels of new funding. The 2025 reconciliation law provided approximately $74.85 billion specifically to ICE, including $45 billion for detention capacity.  The 2026 Secure America Act provided an additional $38.2 billion to ICE and approximately $70 billion overall to ICE, CBP, and DHS.  Much of this funding was enacted through reconciliation rather than the regular annual appropriations process. While I am not asking you to defund ICE outright, I am asking you to use the oversight and appropriations authority Congress does have to ensure that this unprecedented level of funding is accompanied by meaningful accountability. Specifically, I ask that you: • Request a formal DHS briefing on ICE’s use-of-force policies, including vehicle-window-breaking tactics and the planned electric-shock-glove procurement. • Support a congressional inquiry into the racial-profiling allegations and the language documented in the ACLU court filings. • Press for independent oversight and inspection of ICE detention facilities nationwide, rather than limiting oversight to any single facility. • Support legislation requiring full and timely public reporting of all deaths occurring during ICE custody and deaths occurring shortly after release from ICE custody. • Insist that future DHS appropriations and any additional reconciliation funding for ICE include enforceable oversight conditions, transparency requirements for detention data, and clear use-of-force limits. • Refer the electric-shock-glove procurement and other major ICE procurements to the Government Accountability Office and the DHS Inspector General for review of how these funds are being spent and whether the procurements comply with applicable policies and safeguards. Thank you for your attention to this matter.