1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing to you out of deep alarm at the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Congress’s continued failure to meaningfully rein it in. The patterns of abuse that have emerged over the past several years are not isolated mistakes or “bad apples.” They reflect a system that has normalized cruelty, dehumanization, and lawlessness—patterns that history teaches us to take seriously. It is impossible to ignore the disturbing similarities between ICE’s tactics and those used by authoritarian forces in Europe during World War II. Armed agents conduct raids with little transparency, seize people from their homes and communities, separate families, and transport detainees into vast detention networks where oversight is minimal and accountability is rare. History shows us that when a government creates an enforcement arm that operates with fear, secrecy, and impunity, atrocities follow. Numerous reports and sworn testimonies have documented ICE agents stealing personal property from people they arrest, including cash, jewelry, phones, and other valuables. In many cases, these items are never returned, and victims—often detained or deported—have no realistic avenue for redress. This is not law enforcement; it is state-sanctioned theft from people who are uniquely vulnerable and unable to defend themselves. Equally horrifying are the repeated allegations and confirmed findings of sexual abuse and assault in ICE custody. Detainees, including women and minors, have reported being assaulted by guards and staff, only to be ignored, retaliated against, or silenced. These are not rumors—they are documented complaints, lawsuits, and inspector findings that Congress has repeatedly acknowledged and then failed to act upon. Perhaps the most damning indictment of ICE is its treatment of children. Massive detention centers hold children for prolonged periods in conditions that medical professionals and human rights experts have described as deeply harmful. Children have been denied adequate medical care, subjected to trauma, and treated not as human beings, but as administrative problems to be warehoused. No civilized society should accept this, let alone fund it. You were elected to exercise oversight, not to look away. Congress has the constitutional authority—and the moral obligation—to investigate ICE, defund abusive practices, and impose real consequences for violations of human rights and the law. Silence and inaction make Congress complicit. History will not be kind to those who saw these abuses and chose political convenience over courage. I expect you to explain what concrete steps you are taking to stop these practices and why, until now, Congress has allowed them to continue.