Thank You—But We Need Immediate, Bold Action on ICE Abuses

First, thank you for your consistent opposition to the Trump administration’s attacks on our rights (from LGBTQIA+ equality to immigrant justice). As a non-binary constituent and advocate, I’ve been grateful for your voice. But right now, we need you to go further, faster. The escalating ICE detentions of students like Mahmoud Khalil (Columbia University), Rumeysa Ozturk (Tufts University), and the University of Minnesota graduate student (alongside the mass deportations of hundreds to El Salvador based on unverified "gang" allegations) demand more than quiet condemnation. They demand public outrage, mobilizing of constituents, and non-compliance with this regime’s cruelty. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I know our freedoms are tied to those of immigrants. When ICE ignores the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to detain people without due process, or retaliates against activists like Ozturk for First Amendment-protected speech, it sets a precedent for erasing all our rights. Reports in the news show these abuses are systemic and they will come for more of us unless we resist. Even in a Blue State, we cannot assume safety in silence. I urge you to: Hold public hearings or town halls: expose ICE’s violations, inviting impacted students, lawyers, and advocates to testify. Mobilize constituents: partner with grassroots groups (e.g. Indivisible) to organize protests, call-in days, or sanctuary efforts. Refuse compliance: push state agencies to reject ICE collaboration, and publicly pledge to defy unconstitutional orders. This is not the time for cautious politics. It’s time to make noise, demand justice for every detainee, and remind this administration that we will not comply with tyranny. I stand ready to support you, but we need to see you and the rest of the Democratic Party lead.