1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the expansion and militarization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including the new nationwide “surge” operations and paramilitary-style deployments described in recent reporting. The rapid buildout of heavily armed ICE and CBP units across the interior of the United States is turning our communities into occupied zones rather than places of safety. These forces are operating with military-grade equipment, vague mandates, and little transparency, showing up in cities and towns far from any border under the banner of “national security” or “public safety.” In practice, they are functioning as a roaming paramilitary force, with broad discretion to stop, detain, and terrify residents, immigrants and citizens alike. This is incompatible with a free, democratic society governed by the rule of law. We have already seen what happens when ICE and CBP are deployed in this way: - Masked agents in tactical gear conducting street-level operations in residential neighborhoods and business districts. - People shot and killed in the course of immigration enforcement actions, with inadequate, delayed, or opaque investigations and virtually no accountability. - Checkpoints, dragnet arrests, and racial profiling that target people based on perceived immigration status, language, or skin color rather than any individualized suspicion. - Interference with basic democratic oversight, including members of Congress being blocked from inspecting facilities and operations. This is not public safety—it is state-sanctioned intimidation. It erodes trust, keeps parents from taking kids to school or the doctor, and deters victims and witnesses from engaging with police, hospitals, or the courts. It is also a clear misuse of federal resources, pouring billions into militarized interior enforcement instead of into the social services, housing, healthcare, and community-based programs that actually keep people safe. Congress has the power and responsibility to prevent this. I urge you to: 1. Oppose any appropriations bill that increases funding for ICE or CBP, including “surge” operations or new interior deployments. At minimum, do not allow one more dollar to be added to their enforcement and detention budgets. 2. Condition all existing ICE and CBP funding on strict limits and enforceable guardrails, including: - Prohibiting paramilitary-style deployments into cities and towns far from the border. - Banning dragnet operations, racial profiling, and targeting people based on race, language, accent, or location (such as day labor sites or workplaces). - Ending enforcement at “sensitive locations,” including schools, places of worship, day cares, hospitals, and courthouses. - Prohibiting warrantless home entries and arrests in or around homes and shelters. - Limiting DHS’s reprogramming and transfer authority so it cannot backfill cuts or Congressional intent by shifting money around behind closed doors. 3. Demand robust, public oversight of ICE and CBP use of force and interior operations, including: - Immediate, independent investigations into recent shootings and every in-custody death. - Regular public reporting on deployments, use-of-force incidents, complaints, and outcomes. - Guaranteed, timely access for members of Congress and their staff to facilities and operational sites for oversight visits. 4. Support legislation that fundamentally reorients our immigration system away from militarized enforcement and toward humane, community-centered approaches—decriminalizing migration where possible, expanding due process and legal representation, and investing in reception, case-management, and integration rather than raids and detention. The United States does not need a national paramilitary force in search of a mission. Or with a secret one to hijack elections. We need accountable, narrowly tailored agencies that respect the Constitution, Congress’s power of the purse, and the basic dignity of every person in our communities. ICE and CBP, as they are currently operating and expanding, fail that test. I am asking you to use every tool at your disposal—your vote, your voice, your committee work, and your public platform—to stop the further militarization of ICE and CBP and to insist on real accountability and a different vision for safety. Please publicly commit to rejecting any DHS funding bill that does not rein in these abuses and end this dangerous paramilitary buildout. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I would appreciate a written response outlining your position and the specific actions you will take.