To the editor:
Our U.S. Constitution gives people in our country the right to peaceably assemble. It promises free speech rights. It assigns to Congress the powers of declaring war and making the rules concerning captures on land and water. It protects us from unreasonable search and seizures.
These rights, roles and protections are essential to uphold. The Trump administration’s escalating trend of attacking our Constitutional Rights, particularly through the police-state rehearsals being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in U.S. cities are another wake-up call. As the Trump administration increasingly takes powers it does not have under our Constitution, and with ICE armed and acting on the arbitrary quotas set by unelected, all-powerful Trump staff advisor Stephen Miller, the effect on civilians is kidnapping, illegal detentions, injury and death.
We have an immediate opportunity to limit ICE. Congress is working now on a funding bill to continue government operations including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under which ICE and border patrol exist. Through our representatives in Congress we must call for critical restrictions, per the national Indivisible organization.
Reject increased funding for ICE or border patrol: The budgets for ICE and border patrol have already skyrocketed. Every member of Congress should refuse to give another penny to these agencies as they tear apart our communities.
Restrict ICE and Border Patrol’s ability to conduct dragnet arrest operations and target people based on their race, language or accent, place of employment or location at the time of the apprehension. These agencies have secretively created a mass surveillance apparatus that uses dragnet techniques to forcibly collect and track biometric data on American citizens and immigrants alike without any legislative, judicial or public oversight.
End border patrol deployments to our cities and reject its ever-expanding mandate in immigration enforcement. Trump’s DHS has been deploying border patrol in complex immigration enforcement campaigns in cities far from any border, harassing communities and refusing to communicate with local law enforcement.
Limit DHS’s reprogramming and transfer authority, including specifically preventing reprogramming and transferring funds for detention. This prohibits DHS from continuing to move money around to fuel ICE and border patrol lawlessness.”
At this moment, Democrats have real leverage in the upcoming funding bill: by standing together they can achieve the above limitations on ICE. Find and call your representative and senators in Congress today through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Anne Hanson
Craftsbury
