Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), along with Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-VA), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), led colleagues in pressing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to expedite its investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents' use of force. The Congressional push follows violent ICE operations in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti last month, in addition to reports of ICE agents using increasingly aggressive tactics and entering homes without a warrant.

Other signers include: Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), along with Representatives Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Madeline Dean (D-Pa.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Al Green (D-Texas), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.).

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have gotten out of control, using needlessly violent force against community members who are exercising their First Amendment rights and pose no threat,” wrote the lawmakers.

The DHS OIG is responsible for conducting independent oversight of the agency to identify instances of misconduct and reporting findings directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Congress. Since the start of the Trump Administration, ICE’s tactics have become increasingly aggressive, with reports and bystander videos showing immigration agents placing people in chokeholds during arrests, tackling people to the ground, releasing tear gas and flashbang grenades at close range, smashing windows and breaking doors, and brandishing guns. 

Last month, these aggressive tactics led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens: a mother named Renée Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti.

“These events underscore the urgent need for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General to conduct an expeditious review of ICE’s and Customs and Border Protection’s brutal tactics and share its findings with Congress and the public as soon as possible,” wrote the lawmakers.

In June 2025, Senator Warren and lawmakers pressed the DHS OIG to open an investigation into ICE’s aggressive enforcement operations and answer key oversight questions. On January 8, 2026, OIG announced a new audit along the lines of the lawmakers’ request “to determine whether ICE investigates allegations of excessive use of force and holds personnel accountable” consistent with federal law and DHS and ICE policies. Since the lawmakers’ June letter, the OIG also initiated five other audits into DHS’s practices, including DHS processes for determining U.S. citizenship during enforcement operations and CBP interior enforcement.

But OIG audits typically take over a year to complete, even as ICE continues to cause severe harm on the ground. Given the urgency — and the growing risk to public safety and civil rights — the lawmakers urged OIG to expedite its audit, provide interim briefings and preliminary findings to Congress, and use escalation tools — including Management Alerts and 7-day letters — if ICE refuses to comply with OIG’s data access requests.

Recent comments from the Trump administration raise concerns that ICE agents are being told to behave illegally when conducting immigration enforcement. President Trump has consistently downplayed ICE agents’ actions, claiming that it is “inevitable” that agents will be “too rough” and “make mistakes sometimes,” while White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has suggested that ICE agents have blanket “federal immunity” when carrying out their duties. DHS recently circulated an internal memo advising agents that they could enter homes without a judicial warrant in certain circumstances. 

“Given the urgency of this situation — with communities facing severe, and sometimes fatal, harm from ICE’s tactics on American streets every day — we request that your office conduct this review expeditiously and share any preliminary findings with Congress and the public on an expedited basis,” wrote the lawmakers.

The lawmakers also requested that, as part of this review, the OIG provide answers to a series of questions on ICE’s and CBP’s practices, including use-of-force claims, use of warrants in arrests, detentions and arrests of American citizens, recruitment, vetting, and training, and their process for handling professional misconduct.

Text of Letter (PDF)

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