{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-colleagues-renew-demands-to-dhs-for-civilian-protections-greater-transparency", "King, Colleagues Renew Demands to DHS for Civilian Protections, Greater Transparency", "2026-07-20", "2026", "2026-07", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) is leading dozens of his Senate colleagues in calling for stronger accountability measures for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the thirty-nine Senators urge DHS to fulfill its previous commitments to deploy and expand the usage of body-worn cameras, strengthen officer identification requirements, and review enforcement protocols.\n\nThe measures suggested by the Senators are intended to help prevent future deadly encounters involving ICE enforcement officers \u2013 and comes after two fatal shootings during immigration enforcement operations in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas.\n\n\u201cThe recent fatal shootings involving U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, specifically within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, coupled with similar incidents elsewhere in the country, are completely unacceptable,\u201d the Senators wrote. \u201cRather than making our communities safer, these actions endanger our citizens and seriously undermine confidence in law enforcement generally.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Dur\u00e1n Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startling similarities. In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intendedtargets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle. The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel) along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approaches necessary to prevent such tragedies. These recent events have further compromised the credibility of DHS and fractured public trust within communities across our country. In each case, DHS quickly issued statements asserting that officers were acting in self-defense, even before evidence of the facts surrounding the incidents had been gathered. Compounding this failure, no DHS officials involved in these fatal shootings wore body-worn cameras that could be reviewed by investigators or members of the public,\u201d the Senators continued.\n\n\u201cWe remain supportive of removing dangerous convicted criminals from our communities, but this goal can and must be achieved without endangering these very communities in the process. By no stretch could either of the victims in Texas and Maine be characterized as \u201cthe worst of the worst,\u201d making these tragic deaths even more egregious. The American people deserve clarity and accountability. We urge you to honor your Department\u2019s earlier commitments and take immediate action to implement these necessary reforms. We also stand ready to work with you to codify reforms into law,\u201d the Senators finished.\n\nJoining King on the letter are U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-NM), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and John Fetterman (D-PA).\n\nSenator King has been outspoken and proactive in his efforts to negotiate necessary guardrails for ICE and CBP in the wake of unprofessional and unconstitutional behavior among those agencies. In January, King appeared on Face the Nation where he explained his Constitutional concerns over how ICE was operating in Maine, as well as possible paths forward for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding package. In February, he released a statement on congressional efforts to curtail ICE\u2019s activities in Maine and across the country\u2014again calling for the implementation of guardrails. Most recently, King called for a comprehensive, transparent, and expedited investigation into the fatal shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel in Biddeford. Additionally, when given the chance to vote for a DHS budget that funded TSA, FEMA, CISA and the Coast Guard \u2013 holding ICE and CBP funding for bipartisan negotiations to include additional civilian protections \u2013 Senator King voted in favor of this approach all eleven times it was considered on the Senate floor.\n\nThe full letter can be found here and below.\n\n+++\n\nDear Secretary Mullin:\n\nThe recent fatal shootings involving U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, specifically within U.S. Immigrationand Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, coupled with fatalities during similar incidents elsewhere in the country, are completely unacceptable. Rather than making our communities safer, these actions endanger our citizens and seriously undermine confidence in law enforcement generally.\n\nThe tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Dur\u00e1n Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startlingsimilarities. In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intended targets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle. The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel), along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approachesnecessary to prevent such tragedies.\n\nThese recent events have further compromised the credibility of DHS and fractured public trust within communities across our country. In each case, DHS quickly issued statements asserting that officers were acting in self-defense, even before evidence of the facts surrounding the incidents had been gathered. Compounding this failure, no DHS officials involved in these fatal shootings wore body-worn cameras that could be reviewed by investigators or members of the public.\n\nWhile DHS has previously acknowledged that body-worn cameras promote public trust and increase officer and public safety, accountability, and transparency, the Department has clearly not prioritized acquiring cameras. Recent statements from DHS andthe White House assert that DHS could not acquire cameras due to the government shutdown. However, since July 2025, DHS received nearly $40 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that could have been used to swiftly acquire and deploy body-worn cameras for both existing ICE law enforcement officers and the reported 10,000 additional officers hired since enactment of OBBBA. Contrary to recent statements made by the Department and the White House, DHS has had more than sufficient time and funding to procure and deploy a body-worn camera for every officer before the end of 2025.\n\nFollowing public outrage in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the former Secretary announced in February of this year that DHS law enforcement officers would be required to wear body-worn cameras across the country, and ICE issued a directive reinforcing its policy to activate body-worn cameras during enforcement activities wherever cameras areavailable. Then-Secretary Noem stated that \u201c[a]s funding is available, the body-worn camera program will be expanded nationwide.\u201d In March of this year, the White House border czar, Tom Homan, stated that the administration would expand the use of body-worn cameras by DHS officers undertaking immigration enforcements and require footage, in addition to ending roving patrols. The recent tragedies confirm that neither of these commitments were honored.\n\nAs we underscored during the subsequent funding negotiations earlier this year, implementing comprehensive accountability and oversight reforms for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is necessary both to protect the public and restore trust in the work of your agency. Our reform proposals are based upon the standards applicable to virtually every law enforcement agency inthe country (except immigration enforcement officers), including visibly displayed identification, no masks, and body-worn cameras.\n\nIn recent weeks, federal agents have aggressively ramped up enforcement operations, reportedly arresting thousands of immigrantsin a matter of days. Following the public backlash from these most recent fatal shootings, your Department has once again committed to distributing body-worn cameras, stating that every ICE arrest team will have at least one law enforcement officer equipped with a camera going forward and promising that all field offices will receive them within the next 60 days. Acting ICE Director Venturella also went on the record promising members of Congress that all field agents would be outfitted by the end of July. We view this timeline not as a projection, but as a firm, binding commitment to which we will hold the Department accountable.\n\nFurthermore, to strengthen public safety and minimize dangerous operational confusion, we urge an immediate policy change regarding agency branding. To help ensure clear accountability and avoid misleading the public, ICE personnel engaged in interior enforcement must immediately cease wearing tactical gear, vests, or uniforms labeled with the generic term \u201cPOLICE\u201d or \u201cPOLICEICE.\u201d All operational uniforms should explicitly and exclusively identify personnel as \u201cICE.\u201d In addition, agents should be required to identify themselves as \u201cICE\u201d when making arrests and uniforms must clearly be identified as \u201cICE.\u201d\n\nFinally, given the immediate need for administrative accountability following these tragedies, we request detailed information in response to the following questions:\n\n1. What is DHS\u2019s specific plan to respond to the public\u2019s interest in timely, transparent, and independently verified investigations into these incidents?\n\n2. What are the vetting procedures with respect to new ICE recruits? Does ICE consider records of domestic violence and abuse from family courts in its vetting?\n\n3. What immediate updates or reviews are being made to ICE vehicle pursuit and traffic stop policies, including enhancedtraining specifically applicable to traffic stops to ensure they prioritize public and officer safety?\n\n4. Beyond the deployment of body-worn cameras, what additional oversight, reporting requirements, or public safety measures is the agency implementing?\n\nWe remain supportive of removing dangerous convicted criminals from our communities, but this goal can and must be achieved without endangering these very communities in the process. By no stretch could either of the victims in Texas and Maine be characterized as \u201cthe worst of the worst,\u201d making these tragic deaths even more egregious. The American people deserve clarity and accountability. We urge you to honor your Department\u2019s earlier commitments and take immediate action to implement these necessary reforms. We also stand ready to work with you to codify reforms into law.\n\nWe look forward to hearing from you at the earliest possible date.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-21T07:32:02Z", "2026-07-21T07:33:33Z"]], "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://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-colleagues-renew-demands-to-dhs-for-civilian-protections-greater-transparency"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7247609794139862, "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"}