Senator Kim Files Series of Reforms to Rein in Trump’s Lawless ICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) filed a series of reforms that would hold the Trump administration accountable for their lawlessness and brutality in communities across the country. While Congressional Republicans’ budget bill seeks to give more money to Trump’s ICE with zero reforms, Senator Kim introduced amendments that would end warehouse detention, prevent inhumane detention, prohibit taxpayer dollars from going to large scale ICE operations, require training for ICE officers, and more. WATCH AND SHARE (Also on: YouTube , BlueSky , Threads , Facebook , Twitter , and Substack ) Senator Kim introduced five amendments during today’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs mark-up: KIM AMENDMENT 1 – To stop DHS from turning warehouses into mass detention facilitates. “I’m filing this amendment which would prohibit DHS from using a blank check to retrofit warehouses and turn them into large scale detention facilities. Earlier this year, DHS purchased a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey. They did so without consulting with local officials and the local community and when I visited Roxbury, I heard real concerns… Warehouses are not supposed to house people, these facilities lack the bare minimum—space for medical care, bathroom facilities, and sanitation.” WATCH HERE KIM AMENDMENT 2 – End inhumane detention at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey “Delaney Hall Detention Facility has been a source of tremendous turmoil, grievance, and chaos in New Jersey. This amendment requires DHS and DHS Office of Inspectors General to conduct a formal review of reported conditions at the facility, addressing those concerns, and to pause payment on GEO’s contract and the intake of new detainees until the issues have been fixed… A recent open letter penned and signed by nearly 300 detainees substantiates what I and many other Members of Congress have personally witnessed about the live in conditions within.” WATCH HERE KIM AMENDMENT 3 – Stop taxpayer dollars from funding large scale immigration enforcement operations “The cost of these operations is substantial, but more concerning is how the President has weaponized them to terrorize these cities and localities. This is America, and the President should not be using ICE and CBP as his own personal militia. They have a job to do, and it is not suppressing the voices of the American people.” WATCH HERE KIM AMENDMENT 4 – Uphold Congress’s authority to conduct unannounced oversight visits to detention facilities “Recent DHS policies have attempted to restrict or delay unannounced congressional visits to detention facilities—despite Congress’ clear constitutional authority to conduct oversight. These are public facilities, paid for by the taxpayer dollar – you have the right to know how those dollars are being spent and if they’re being used improperly.” WATCH HERE KIM AMENDMENT 5 – Require ICE and CBP agents receive de-escalation training for civilian and protestor interactions “ICE and CBP personnel regularly operate in high tension environments involving arrests, family separations, and public demonstrations. Reports of escalated encounters during immigration enforcement operations, including fatal incidents, highlight the need for improved training standards. Congress must ensure that de-escalation training reaches every officer, so that no more lives are lost.” WATCH HERE ###