End “Worst Of The Worst” Propaganda In Federal ICE Enforcement

CONGRESS MUST IMPOSE REAL OVERSIGHT ON ICE AND END MISLEADING “WORST OF THE WORST” CLAIMS As your constituent, I am urging Congress to immediately rein in ICE by imposing enforceable oversight, transparency requirements, and funding conditions. The Trump administration’s repeated claim that ICE is targeting the “worst of the worst” is fictitious in large part, contradicted by ICE’s own arrest data, and is being used to justify broad enforcement sweeps that routinely include people with no criminal convictions. Congress must act now to force factual accuracy and to limit ICE enforcement to genuine, present-day public safety threats. “WORST OF THE WORST” CLAIMS COLLAPSE UNDER ICE’S OWN NUMBERS A recent FactCheck.org analysis of publicly available ICE and DHS data shows a dramatic mismatch between rhetoric and reality. In January 2026, nearly 43% of people detained by ICE had no U.S. criminal convictions or pending charges, while only about 29% had criminal convictions. These figures represent a sharp shift from earlier periods and directly contradict the claim that enforcement is focused on the most dangerous offenders. When nearly half of those being detained have no convictions or charges, the phrase “worst of the worst” ceases to be descriptive and becomes misleading. Congress should not tolerate a federal agency using extreme labels that are unsupported by its own data. CONGRESS MUST STOP GOVERNMENT-BRANDED STIGMA THAT INVITES OVERREACH Branding people as the “worst of the worst” without transparent standards, definitions, or supporting evidence predictably invites abuse. In Maine and elsewhere, ICE operations promoted under this label have included individuals whose court records, immigration status, or offense histories do not align with the public narrative being presented. This gap between rhetoric and reality is not merely a messaging problem. It creates fear, erodes trust, damages families and communities, and undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement by substituting stigma for facts. CONGRESS MUST IMPOSE OVERSIGHT RULES THAT CHANGE ICE BEHAVIOR Congress has both the authority and responsibility to correct this. I urge you to pursue enforceable constraints that ensure honesty, narrow targeting, and accountability: (1) Require ICE and DHS to publish regular, auditable reports showing the share of arrests involving violent felony convictions, non-violent convictions, pending charges, and no convictions or charges, using clear and consistent definitions. (2) Prohibit DHS and ICE from using labels such as “worst of the worst” in official communications unless accompanied by published criteria and supporting aggregate statistics. (3) Condition ICE appropriations on compliance with transparency requirements, prompt access to counsel, and limits on transfers that impair due process absent documented necessity. (4) Require Inspector General audits and Congressional oversight hearings comparing public enforcement claims with actual arrest composition and outcomes. CONGRESS MUST ACT BECAUSE THIS PLAYBOOK IS EASILY REPEATED Even when enhanced operations pause, the incentives that produced them remain. Without Congressional guardrails, the same misleading narrative can be redeployed elsewhere, again expanding enforcement beyond genuine public safety threats. Oversight is the only durable check on a federal enforcement culture that can scale rapidly under political pressure while relying on rhetoric that the underlying data does not support.