Pass the NOPE Act: Stop Using National Security Tools to Quash Dissent

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to prevent the federal government from using national security and law enforcement tools to suppress lawful political dissent. Recent investigations by the Department of Homeland Security in Minnesota demonstrate a troubling pattern. Following a fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents in January 2026, DHS targeted left-leaning political organizations including the Sunrise Movement, the Communications Workers of America, and the Service Employees International Union. Rather than investigating the shooting itself, federal agents conducted extensive surveillance of these groups' lawful activities, obtaining three years of financial records through administrative subpoenas, infiltrating Signal group chats, and documenting attendees at church meetings and community gatherings where activists discussed protest strategy. These investigations operated under National Security Presidential Memo 7, which frames left-wing political activity as a national security threat. The government ultimately presented a PowerPoint to grand jurors asserting that 18 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, were part of a conspiracy to impede immigration officers. Fifteen people were indicted for "interfering with law enforcement," though prosecutors provided no evidence that the targeted organizations themselves committed crimes. Federal prosecutors appear to have selected targets first, then searched backwards for evidence of criminal activity. This mirrors the FBI's COINTELPRO operations of the 1970s, when the government systematically targeted civil rights activists and antiwar protesters through infiltration and surveillance. When dissent itself becomes classified as a national security matter, democracy erodes. I ask that you support legislation to repeal Memo 7 and pass the No Political Enemies Act (H.R.7060/S.3646), which would protect Americans from politically motivated federal investigations and create meaningful accountability for agencies that abuse their power to target protected speech and political organizing and to explicitly prohibit investigations of political organizations absent specific evidence of actual crimes unrelated to protected speech. I also urge you to demand that the DHS Office of Inspector General conduct an independent audit of all investigations targeting domestic political organizations, with results reported publicly to Congress. The power to investigate and prosecute must be exercised with restraint and respect for citizens' constitutional rights to organize and protest. Congress has the authority and responsibility to restore that restraint. I urge you to use your influence to move the NOPE Act out of committee and to a floor vote.