1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to support the active measures now underway in Congress to rein in ICE and condition its funding on critical reforms, including prohibiting masked agents and limiting border patrol jurisdiction beyond constitutional bounds. The murder of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis has become a rallying point for national condemnation. After federal officials began a massive cover-up and the Department of Justice refused to investigate Good's killer while pursuing a witch-hunt investigation into the politics of her widow, six prosecutors resigned from the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota. Four attorneys within the Civil Rights Division accelerated their departures to protest the decision not to investigate this killing. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has disclosed receiving a substantial number of submissions for independent investigation, and Minnesota AG Keith Ellison has warned there is no statute of limitations on murder. Videos circulating widely document widespread ICE abuses, including of peaceful protesters and legal observers who are U.S. citizens. The plan to surge over 2,000 federal immigration agents into Minneapolis to terrorize the Somali immigrant community has backfired as ordinary citizens rally to their immigrant neighbors' aid, documenting abuses and standing firm despite illegal threats and arrests. Sen. Chris Murphy has introduced a three-point plan to limit border patrol jurisdiction, and Democratic-led efforts are moving to condition ICE funding on key reforms. I urge you to support these measures and any efforts to ensure accountability for Good's murder. Federal law enforcement cannot operate above the law or outside constitutional constraints. The infrastructure for rapid, mass protest now exists where it did not before. Your constituents are watching how you respond to these abuses of power. I ask that you stand firmly for constitutional rights, accountability, and the rule of law by supporting congressional action to reform ICE operations.