{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-condemns-ice-recruitment-advertising", "Congressman Cohen Condemns ICE Recruitment Advertising", "2025-10-20", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", "cohen", "https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "MEMPHIS \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urging them to discontinue targeting local law enforcement officers nationally, including those in Memphis, for recruitment to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).\n\nThe letter reads in part:\n\n\u201cI write to express serious concern about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment advertisements currently airing on television across the country, including in Memphis, and to urge that they be discontinued immediately. These advertisements demean the work of local law enforcement officers and actively encourage them to leave their departments for ICE\u2014undermining morale, straining local agencies, and ultimately degrading public safety.\n\n\u201cThese commercials make our communities less safe. They demoralize local officers and lure them away from their departments at a time when many police forces are already facing severe staffing shortages. In Memphis, for example, recruiting qualified candidates has been one of the City\u2019s top priorities, yet the Memphis Police Department (MPD) remains roughly 500 officers\u2014about 20 percent\u2014below full strength.\n\n\u201cICE\u2019s enormous incentives, including advertised signing bonuses as high as $50,000 and student loan forgiveness, only exacerbate the problem. To put that in perspective, an MPD patrol officer earns approximately $55,000 per year. A bonus of that size is effectively a full year\u2019s salary\u2014an understandably tempting offer for officers who have dedicated their careers to serving their communities. Every officer who leaves for ICE is one fewer officer on the beat, worsening an already critical staffing shortage. Those who remain face longer hours, more mandatory overtime, and greater risk\u2014all while feeling that their work is devalued by the federal government.\n\n\u201cThe scale of ICE\u2019s recruitment campaign and its large financial incentives imply that immigration enforcement is a greater national priority than local policing. Local law enforcement officers work diligently\u2014and often in dangerous circumstances\u2014to keep our communities safe. There is no substitute for a professional, well-trained police department. When you call 911 in an emergency, local police respond, not ICE. They are our first responders, and their role cannot be replaced.\n\n\u201cThe advertisements also misrepresent the work of local police. They suggest that officers are ordered to \u201cstand down\u201d and allow dangerous individuals to go free. That is simply false. In Memphis\u2014as in every jurisdiction across the country\u2014police arrest violent offenders regardless of immigration status. To imply otherwise is not only inaccurate but deeply insulting to the men and women who risk their lives daily to keep their communities safe. It is also worth noting that statistically, immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, are less likely to engage in criminal activity than U.S. citizens.\n\n\u201cCongress has repeatedly acted on a bipartisan basis to strengthen and support local law enforcement. We fund them directly through federal grants, provide training and technical assistance, and maintain federal agencies\u2014such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives\u2014that work in close partnership with state and local departments. The Department of Justice itself houses entire components devoted to supporting and improving local policing.\n\n\u201cFor the safety of all our communities, federal agencies must not pit themselves against local law enforcement. This approach is shortsighted, divisive, and dangerous. I urge you to remove these advertisements and to reconsider ICE\u2019s recruitment strategy so that it strengthens\u2014rather than undermines\u2014the vital work of our local police.\u201d\n\nSee the entire letter here.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-condemns-ice-recruitment-advertising"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7609212771058083, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}