U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Matthew Albence demanding answers on the agencies’ involvement with the ongoing protests against police brutality in light of reports of law enforcement using force at protests and demonstrations.
The letter follows reports of ICE and CBP assisting law enforcement during the protests.
“We are writing to you today regarding recent reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are deploying resources in connection with demonstrations nationwide,” the lawmakers wrote. “As both CBP and ICE have acknowledged, the right to peaceful protest is a bedrock principle of our democracy. We write to you today to request information regarding ICE and CBP operations in connection with demonstrations, particularly in light of public reports that law enforcement have used force—including tear gas, spray chemical irritants, non-lethal bullets, and other forms of force.”
They continued, “It is also vital to ensure that ICE and CBP are acting responsibly, reasonably, and within their respective authorities. CBP has stated that ‘CBP’s deployment of manpower and aerial assets is about supporting the efforts of our federal, state and local partners, not about carrying out CBP’s immigration enforcement mission.’ An ICE spokesperson similarly stated that ‘here’s not going to be any immigration enforcement element whatsoever.’ We need answers regarding what, precisely, your agencies will be doing and what policies and procedures are in place to protect the rights of individuals with whom you come into contact.”
The letter is supported by Immigration Hub, United We Dream, the Southern Border Communities Coalition, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Multicultural Efforts to end Sexual Assault (MESA), and La Asociación Campesina de Florida.
Read the full letter here.
