The Brennan Center for Justice is urging Congress to enact common-sense reforms to restore oversight, protect constitutional rights, and curb abuses within the Department of Homeland Security, as key accountability mechanisms have been eroded and First and Fourth Amendment protections have been violated.
Congress has delayed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, providing an opportunity to impose meaningful oversight and reforms amid public outrage over alleged abuses, with civil rights organizations urging Congress to include 10 legislative proposals in the final funding bill.
Leaders of legacy civil rights organizations are urging U.S. senators to vote against funding ICE and DHS, citing a pattern of lawlessness, lack of accountability, and erosion of civil rights at the hands of federal law enforcement.
The ACLU has criticized the House’s narrow vote on an appropriations bill that would significantly increase funding for ICE without adding new accountability measures, warning that the legislation would expand enforcement power at a time of heightened public concern.
The DHS Use of Force Oversight Act would require the Department of Homeland Security to adopt and abide by formal, enforceable standards governing the use of force and de-escalation by its agents, creating new mechanisms for reporting and congressional oversight.
ICE operations are facing increased scrutiny following the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, with data showing a sharp rise in immigration detention among people with no criminal record and allegations of the Trump administration misleading courts and the public about the nature and scope of federal immigration enforcement.
A new national poll released by the ACLU shows broad and bipartisan public support for greater transparency and congressional accountability surrounding U.S. military strikes on civilian boats accused of carrying drugs, with large majorities saying the government should release unedited video footage and legal justifications for the strikes.
The ACLU, CCR, and NYCLU have filed a lawsuit demanding the release of the Trump administration’s secret legal justification and all other materials related to its illegal lethal strikes on civilian boats at sea, which have killed 99 people and violated both U.S. and international law.