1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The executive branch is not above the Constitution. It is bound by it. Recent actions and rhetoric make clear that this line is being crossed, repeatedly, and without consequence. When senior officials suggest that Americans should expect to “show their papers” during ICE operations, they are not describing lawful enforcement. They are asserting a power the Constitution does not grant. There is no general authority for federal agents to stop citizens, demand identification, or detain people absent reasonable suspicion of a crime. Immigration status is not a crime, and citizenship is not something Americans are required to prove on demand. At the same time, the administration has demonstrated through executive actions that it understands the limits of its authority when it chooses to. Executive Order 14169 pauses and reviews foreign aid precisely because the executive branch knows it must justify its actions within legal and statutory boundaries. That restraint disappears when enforcement turns inward. This is the problem. The executive branch cannot claim discipline and legality abroad while exercising unchecked power at home. Administrative convenience does not override the Fourth Amendment. Policy guidance does not supersede due process. National security language does not erase equal protection. Congress has a constitutional duty to act as a check, not a spectator. Silence in the face of unlawful enforcement is not neutrality, it is acquiescence. Oversight hearings, subpoenas, funding restrictions, and clear statutory limits exist for a reason. They are not optional tools reserved for political convenience. Accountability is not radical. It is the system working as designed. If federal agencies are violating constitutional rights, Congress must investigate. If executive officials are misstating the law, they must be corrected publicly. If enforcement practices rely on profiling, warrantless stops, or coercion, they must be halted. Americans do not answer to unchecked executive power. The executive answers to the Constitution. It is time for Congress to do its job and enforce that truth.