(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are joining dozens of their Senate colleagues in calling for stronger accountability measures for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the thirty-nine Senators urge DHS to fulfill its previous commitments to deploy and expand the usage of body-worn cameras, strengthen officer identification requirements and review enforcement protocols.
The measures called for by the Senators are intended to help prevent future deadly encounters involving ICE enforcement officers—and come after two recent fatal shootings during immigration enforcement operations in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas. The shootings in Texas and Maine are the latest in a disturbing trend of ICE recklessness and follow the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of the agency in Minnesota earlier this year.
The Senators wrote, in part: “The recent fatal shootings involving U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, specifically within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, coupled with similar incidents elsewhere in the country, are completely unacceptable. Rather than making our communities safer, these actions endanger our citizens and seriously undermine confidence in law enforcement generally.”
The Senators continued: “The tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startling similarities. In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intended targets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle. The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel) along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approaches necessary to prevent such tragedies. These recent events have further compromised the credibility of DHS and fractured public trust within communities across our country. In each case, DHS quickly issued statements asserting that officers were acting in self-defense, even before evidence of the facts surrounding the incidents had been gathered. Compounding this failure, no DHS officials involved in these fatal shootings wore body-worn cameras that could be reviewed by investigators or members of the public.”
The Senators concluded: “We remain supportive of removing dangerous convicted criminals from our communities, but this goal can and must be achieved without endangering these very communities in the process. By no stretch could either of the victims in Texas and Maine be characterized as “the worst of the worst,” making these tragic deaths even more egregious. The American people deserve clarity and accountability. We urge you to honor your Department’s earlier commitments and take immediate action to implement these necessary reforms. We also stand ready to work with you to codify reforms into law.”
The full letter can be found HERE.
Shaheen and Hassan were joined on the letter by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and John Fetterman (D-PA).
Senators Shaheen and Hassan have been outspoken against ICE’s recklessness and lack of accountability and continue to press the agency for more transparency. Earlier this year, amid efforts by DHS to convert industrial warehouses into processing facilities and detention centers, including in Merrimack, Shaheen led the entire New Hampshire delegation in introducing the Respect for Local Communities Act. The bicameral legislation would require DHS to solicit public comments and receive written approval from state and local officials before constructing, acquiring or operating any new ICE processing facility or detention center. Following the introduction of this legislation and advocacy from Shaheen and Hassan, DHS cancelled its plans for an ICE processing and detention center in Merrimack.
As a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Hassan has fought to protect Americans’ basic civil rights from unlawful actions by ICE. Under questioning from Senator Hassan, ICE’s then-Acting Director Todd Lyons admitted that public comments from former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller “put a bias” on the ongoing investigations into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Following Lyon’s testimony, Senator Hassan called for an investigation into whether Noem’s comments influenced the investigations or violated DHS policy. She also worked with the New Hampshire congressional delegation to reverse DHS plans to open an ICE facility in Merrimack and pressed Secretary Mullin during his confirmation hearing to work with local communities before opening future facilities.