WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advocacy group MomsRising is calling on Congress to reinstate the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD), warning that its removal has weakened oversight of federal agents amid concerns about human rights violations by immigration enforcement authorities.
On Monday, MomsRising, a leading mothers’ advocacy group, demanded that Congress reinstate the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) in response to ICE agents violating human rights, according to a press release.
According to MomsRising, mothers across the nation “delivered nearly 40,000 petition signatures” calling for the reinstatement of NLEAD.
Former President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14074 on May 25, 2022, directing the attorney general to establish NLEAD following “the police murder of George Floyd,” and the database was created “to ensure that federal agencies and state and local police departments could check if people they were hiring committed misconduct,” according to MomsRising.
According to Police1, Biden “aimed to restore law enforcement accountability and trust by creating a national database of officer misconduct to prevent unfit individuals from moving between law enforcement agencies.”
MomsRising described that when the database launched in 2023, it was “a badly needed central repository for the professional records of law enforcement officers,” ensuring that “officers with histories of misconduct would no longer move unchecked between agencies.”
According to Beatriz Beckford, MomsRising national director for Youth & Family Justice, without the database, federal agents can “operate without meaningful oversight,” specifically referencing agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Despite those concerns, MomsRising said “the Trump administration took NLEAD offline early last year,” which it warned would increase the likelihood that law enforcement officers “with shameful records of misconduct, excessive force, discrimination, or harassment” could be hired by other departments or agencies.
In an article from The Guardian, a statement emailed from the White House to The Washington Post said President Donald Trump deleted the database because Biden’s executive order creating NLEAD “was full of woke, anti-police concepts that make communities less safe.”
The statement added that Trump is committed to “giving our brave men and women of law enforcement the tools they need to stop crime.”
MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner said the standards for hiring ICE agents are “too lax” and that “histories of misconduct must be made public.”
Rowe-Finkbeiner also addressed the absence of NLEAD, stating: “Officers who have repeatedly committed misconduct are moving from one agency or jurisdiction to another, and families and communities are paying the price.”
In the absence of the database, minority communities are especially affected.
Beckford said that “immigrant families, Black and Brown neighborhoods, and people with disabilities” are at particular risk because “officers with histories of misconduct can be hired and rehired.”
Beckford cited instances where “families have lost loved ones” and “immigrant parents are separated from their children” because “law enforcement officers abuse our human and constitutional rights.”
Rather than feeling protected, Beckford said “communities are living in fear,” adding that “these outcomes are precisely what NLEAD was designed to prevent.”
Beckford emphasized that “families deserve safety, accountability, and justice.”
Rowe-Finkbeiner shifted the focus to Congress, saying lawmakers have “the power to reinstate NLEAD and restore a basic safeguard that protects our communities and strengthens public trust.”
She added that “it is Congress’ responsibility to stand up to the Trump Department of Justice and restore transparency and accountability.”
A Congressional Research Service Insight noted that policymakers “could pursue reestablishing NLEAD or creating a similar database through legislation” if they are concerned that “federal LEAs (law enforcement agencies) no longer have access to NLEAD records.”
Though advocacy groups have continued to push for reinstating NLEAD, there has been no congressional action or legislative movement to restore the database.
Previously, Congress attempted but failed to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2021, which received support from nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers.
According to Notus newsroom, “lawmakers attempted to establish a national law enforcement misconduct tracking system that is codified in law — but those efforts haven’t gone anywhere.”
Under the current administration, the immediate reinstatement of NLEAD appears unlikely, though groups such as MomsRising continue to advocate for access to law enforcement misconduct records and stronger accountability.
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