Illegal Federal Actions Require Impeachment and Removal at the Executive Level

I have written to you several times in recent days calling for the defunding and disbanding of ICE. I continue to believe that is necessary. It is now clear, however, that the problem is bigger than ICE alone. What we are witnessing is the illegal use of federal power, carried out repeatedly and with escalating consequences, under direct executive authority. In a matter of days, federal agents have removed a five-year-old child from Minnesota despite his family being lawfully present with a pending refugee filing and no deportation order, transported a two-year-old girl out of state in defiance of a federal judge’s order, and shot and killed an American citizen — a registered nurse — during a federal operation in Minneapolis. These actions are not lawful enforcement. There is no legal authority for seizing people who are legally present in the United States, ignoring binding court orders, or killing civilians during federal operations. These acts violate due process, constitutional protections, and the rule of law. This is no longer an agency-level failure. It is executive lawlessness. ICE and other federal enforcement bodies do not act independently. They act under the authority and direction of the President of the United States. These actions are being carried out under Donald Trump’s orders and with the knowledge and approval of his administration. Defunding and dismantling ICE remains necessary, but it is not sufficient. Accountability must extend upward. When a President directs or permits illegal uses of federal force, the Constitution provides a clear remedy. Accordingly, I am calling for: 1. Impeachment proceedings up to and including the President of the United States for directing or enabling illegal federal enforcement actions. 2. Impeachment and removal of the Secretary of Homeland Security and other senior officials who have implemented or tolerated these actions. 3. The immediate firing of the head of ICE and the dismantling of enforcement bodies operating outside constitutional authority. Impeachment is not partisan. It is a constitutional safeguard. It exists for precisely this circumstance: when executive power is exercised illegally and poses a direct threat to the lives and liberties of the people. This moment requires Congress to act.