Trying to keep track of America’s current government is like playing a Kafkaesque game of whack-a-mole where you wear a blindfold while news anchors give you instructions on where the moles are in a different language several hours ago.
One persistent mole is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). When it’s not very publicly tearing families apart, detaining people without due process, or targeting individuals who pose no threat, this militarized arm of the Trump administration spends its time quietly watching our Congress enact legislation that strengthens it and expands its powers ever further.
To our great disappointment, our own Senator Kamala Harris, a member of the authorizing committee for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, or HSGAC), has failed to use her position to halt the spread of ICE’s power, authority and funding. She has raised no opposition to ICE’s intent to spend $100 million on software that will allow for “automatic extreme vetting” – technology that will give it the capacity to digitally profile visitors and immigrants, which is inaccurate and biased and endangers civil liberties. And on March 7, 2018 – more than seven months after her committee received the DHS reauthorization bill that, among other things gives DHS the power to ask for more funding for ICE – she signed off on the bill without protest.
While we applaud Senator Harris’ strong public stance against ICE, we are disappointed that she has not taken any of the opportunities presented to her as a member of HSGAC to call attention to the need for greater scrutiny of this controversial agency or to seek to amend the reauthorization bill to address the numerous allegations about ICE’s abuses.
It’s vital that we continue to press our Members of Congress to hold ICE accountable and stand up to its persistent attempts to infringe on our rights. Here’s where you can help:
Contact Senator Harris. Let her know you’re keeping track of ICE and her responses to ICE, no matter how few headlines the stories get, and tell her you’re disappointed that she has not used the occasions she had to speak out against ICE’s grab for power and money. What to say:
My name is _______ and my zip code is _________. I am a member of Indivisible East Bay. I want to thank Senator Harris for her statements about ICE ‘s abuses of power, but I am concerned that she voted in the Homeland Security Committee to send a bill authorizing the agency to the Senate floor. I want her to use her position on this Committee as an opportunity to push for reform of ICE and to force the agency to be more responsive to Congressional oversight.
Sen. Kamala Harris: (email); (415) 355-9041 • DC: (202) 224-3553
Be informed and inform others. Support and connect with your local ICE rapid response networks. Make sure you and your neighbors know what to do if you see ICE. Remember: respond with power, not panic. Download ACLU NorCal’s Mobile Justice app to make sure you’re ready to record ICE overreach if it happens in your neighborhood.
Image via TryJimmy licensed under Creative Commons.
