Top Democrats demand ICE reforms for DHS funding bill passage approval

Democratic leaders in Congress shared a list of 10 demands for reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday, insisting they be added to the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., put forward the following demands in a letter to Republican leadership, arguing ICE has “has terrorized communities across the country.”

Targeted enforcement

Democrats say DHS officers must not “enter private property without a judicial warrant.”

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“End indiscriminate arrests and improve warrant procedures and standards. Require verification that a person is not a U.S. citizen before holding them in immigration detention,” Jeffries and Schumer wrote.

No masks

“Prohibit ICE and immigration enforcement agents from wearing face coverings,” the pair demanded.

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Require ID

Schumer and Jeffries say ICE agents should constantly display their agency, unique ID number and their last name during immigration operations. They should also “verbalize” their ID number and name if asked during an operation, the pair argue.

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Protect sensitive locations

Jeffries and Schumer argue that federal funding should not be used to conduct immigration operations near “sensitive locations,” which they define as “medical facilities, schools, child-care facilities, churches, polling places, courts” and others.

Stop racial profiling

Top Democrats argue that DHS officers have been “conducting stops, questioning and searches based on an individual’s presence at certain locations, their job, their spoken language and accent or their race and ethnicity.”

They say that must stop, and that decisions should be based on prior evidence.

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Uphold use of force standards

Democrats say ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection must operate under a more robust use of force policy, involving expanded training and certification for federal agents.

“In the case of an incident, the officer must be removed from the field until an investigation is conducted,” the pair argued.

Ensure state and local coordination and oversight

“Preserve the ability of State and local jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute potential crimes and use of excessive force incidents,” the pair wrote. “Require that evidence is preserved and shared with jurisdictions. Require the consent of States and localities to conduct large-scale operations outside of targeted immigration enforcement.”

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Build safeguards into the system

Schumer and Jeffries demanded that federal detention facilities “must abide by the same basic detention standards that require immediate access to a person’s attorney to prevent citizen arrests or detention.”

“Allow states to sue DHS for violations of all requirements. Prohibit limitations on Member visits to ICE facilities regardless of how those facilities are funded,” they wrote.

Body cameras for accountability, not tracking

The Democrats argue that federal agents must wear body cameras when interacting with the public.

They also say federal police should “prohibit tracking, creating or maintaining databases of individuals participating in First Amendment activities.”

No paramilitary police

“Regulate and standardize the type of uniforms and equipment DHS officers carry during enforcement operations to bring them in line with civil enforcement,” Schumer and Jeffries wrote.

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“Furthermore, there are steps that the Trump administration has the power to take right now to show good faith, including fully ramping down the surge in Minnesota and removing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from her position,” the pair wrote.

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“These are common sense solutions that protect constitutional rights and ensure responsible law enforcement,” they said.

White House border czar Tom Homan already announced a drawdown of 700 federal agents from the Twin Cities on Wednesday. Noem also ordered federal agents in Minnesota to start wearing body cameras.