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An Open Letter

To: Gov. Landry, Sen. Hodges, Rep. Hennessy

From: A constituent in Denham Springs, LA

January 8

I am writing as a deeply concerned constituent to demand immediate and decisive action regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Recent events have made unmistakably clear that ICE is no longer operating as a legitimate public safety agency. Its actions constitute systemic abuse of power, repeated violations of constitutional rights, and the terrorization of civilian communities — including American citizens. What we are witnessing is not “law enforcement,” but an unaccountable federal force operating with impunity. I am calling for the following actions to be formally pursued and publicly supported: 1. The full dismantling of ICE as an agency, with its functions either abolished or restructured under strict constitutional oversight. ICE’s history of violence, secrecy, and disregard for civil liberties has rendered it irredeemable in its current form. 2. Criminal accountability for individual ICE agents who engage in misconduct, excessive force, unlawful detention, or the use of lethal force against civilians. Federal employment must not shield anyone from prosecution. 3. Legal and constitutional accountability for ICE leadership and federal officials who authorize, enable, or cover up unconstitutional conduct. This includes failures in training, rules of engagement, transparency, and discipline. 4. Independent investigations with state-level participation, not internal federal reviews, into incidents involving civilian harm or death caused by ICE operations. 5. Immediate suspension of aggressive federal immigration operations in civilian spaces that endanger lives, destabilize communities, and undermine public trust. ICE’s conduct has instilled fear across entire neighborhoods — immigrants and citizens alike. Families are traumatized. Communities are destabilized. The normalization of federal agents using military-style force in public spaces is incompatible with a constitutional democracy. No agency is above the Constitution. No badge excuses violence. No “enforcement” mandate justifies terrorizing the public. I expect a clear, written response stating your position on dismantling ICE, holding its agents criminally accountable when they break the law, and addressing the unconstitutional conduct that has been allowed to continue unchecked. History will judge how elected officials responded at this moment. Silence and half-measures are not acceptable.

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