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Lawmaker calls for ICE reforms, cites training and deaths involving federal employees
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Summary
An unnamed lawmaker argued ICE has acted inhumanely, urged it be held to standard policing practices (warrants, IDs, more training) and cited the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Goode as reasons the reforms are necessary.
A lawmaker urged reforms to immigration enforcement, saying recent practices by U.S. immigration agents have been “inhumane” and “made all of us less safe,” and calling for the agency to meet the same basic standards as local police.
The speaker listed specific standards he said should apply to ICE: obtain a warrant before searches, have officers introduce themselves with a name and badge number, and limit mask-wearing to very rare circumstances. He noted what he described as a decline in training, citing a 47-day training period for recent trainees compared with earlier longer programs that included use-of-force instruction.
“Everybody now agrees. Get the bad guys who don't belong here out of the country. Deport people who are committing violent crimes,” the lawmaker said, while also condemning what he described as abusive practices. He tied the argument to accountability, saying reforms were sought after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Goode by federal employees — incidents he said “transcended politics.”
The speaker said bipartisan efforts to fund and reform agencies passed 'out of this chamber' but were later rejected in the House, leaving unresolved attempts to pair funding with the reforms he described. He criticized plans he attributed to Republicans to pre-fund ICE and CBP for multiple years via reconciliation rather than enact basic reforms.
The lawmaker framed the reforms as comparable to ordinary police practices: “That you have to get a warrant before you conduct a search. That you have to introduce yourself. That you have to have a name and badge number,” he said. He urged that training be robust and that independent investigations follow officer-involved shootings.
No formal legislation or vote on the floor was introduced in the remarks; the speaker described past negotiations and urged action to pair funding with the reforms.
