Senior Research Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick gave oral testimony before Congress, exposing a “massive” surge in arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), profiling, wrongful detention of U.S. citizens, and the urgent need for Congressional reform.
This testimony includes:
ICE’s Rapid Expansion of “General” Arrests – Arrests of people with no criminal record are rapidly increasing. the proliferation of aggressive enforcement tactics such as collateral arrests, patrols, and workplace raids; How appearance-based profiling has led to the unjust detention of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The public safety impact of prioritizing immigration arrests over other federal law enforcement needs. Congress urgently needs to limit overreach, require clear identification for police officers, and ban profiling.
The expansion of domestic immigration enforcement does not only affect non-citizens. As “massive” arrests and aggressive enforcement tactics expand, more U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are drawn into immigration enforcement operations that are often unfairly intensive. It undermines trust in law enforcement, erodes civil liberties, and makes communities less safe for everyone.
Without legal reform, this overreach risks permanently damaging the social fabric of immigrant and mixed-status communities across the country.
