1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The proposed demands on DHS presented by Minority Leader Schumer today, with Senator Murray standing by, are not nearly strong enough to deal with the challenges of this rogue agency. This continues his pattern, and the pattern seen from the Democratic Party in general, of not adequately meeting this moment of crisis. You must do more to restrict and reform ICE, if not outright abolish it. Additional demands should include ending qualified immunity for ICE, overturning the July 8th mandatory detention memo, rewriting use-of-force rules, opening up detention centers for inspection and enforcing the need for humane conditions in those facilities, ending the policy of roving ICE patrols snatching random people of color off the street, and keeping agents from covering their faces and hiding their IDs. We need to enforce accountability and put a unified code of conduct in place for the agents. We need to end courthouse arrests for people following the rules. Hospitals, schools, and churches need to be protected and off limits to ICE. Unaccompanied kids being put into detention needs to stop. And other federal agencies such as FBI, HSI, DEA, and ATF need to get out of the immigration enforcement business and back to their own beats. The only way we make changes and progress is by asking for all the things we need, and now is the time given our small sense of momentum and leverage. Don’t waste this time with weak demands. Push harder for the reforms that are needed.