New Bill Would Put Basic Limits on ICE Use of Force After Minneapolis Killing |
Rep. Delia Ramirez plans to introduce legislation limiting the use of force by law enforcement agents at the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday, the Illinois congresswoman shared with The Intercept.
“The Department of Homeland Security has demonstrated lawlessness. They’re operating unaccountable, they’re violating the Constitution, and they are creating chaos and fear and potential death in every single city that they walk into,” said Ramirez, D-Ill., pointing to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross’s recent killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. At that moment, “so many of us knew that a use of force policy needed to be codified from this body as quickly as possible,” she said.
As it stands, DHS has extremely limited guidelines on the use of force and no public reporting requirements for when a federal agent injures or even kills a civilian. In 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that the department strengthen its use of force data collection and analysis, but those changes were never implemented.
The new “DHS Use of Force Oversight Act” would require all DHS officers to “use only the amount of force that is objectively reasonable,” and “attempt to identify themselves and issue a verbal warning to comply” before using force when possible.
The legislation, which has 11 co-sponsors and is co-led by Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., would also require DHS to collect and maintain consistent data related to the use of force and to publish a report on its website that includes “data relating to each incident” where force was used by a law enforcement officer or agent with the department.
If a DHS agent kills or hospitalizes a person, the department would then be required to brief the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and the public within 24 hours.
The Democrat-led bill has slim odds of passing in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, especially as the Trump........