Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 8/28/2026-9/4/2026

Condemning ICE’s Abuse of Power & Harmful Tactics in Connecticut [Hartford, CT] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a public forum to receive testimony from the Danbury community about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s destructive and indiscriminate detentions last week. Prior to the forum, Blumenthal and Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves walked through downtown Danbury meeting with city residents and businessowners whose family members were detained by ICE. Blumenthal also joined a rally Wednesday evening to stand in solidarity with the Danbury community as they grapple with the escalating ICE activity in their community. “The stories I heard in Danbury about ICE’s abuses were gripping & heartbreaking. I will be fighting to hold ICE accountable & ensure justice for detainees & their families,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X . As Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Blumenthal has led an investigation into DHS’s abuses. Blumenthal’s forum in Danbury on Thursday follows four public forums hosted by Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, as part of their ongoing inquiry into the lawless and abusive tactics used by federal immigration agents: In March, Blumenthal and Garcia hosted a forum to receive public testimony from young people, mothers, and a school administrator about DHS’s reckless disregard for the safety of children. Prior to the forum, Blumenthal and Garcia released a report entitled “ Cruelty is the Point: How Trump’s Immigration Agenda Endangers Children ,” which documented 128 children who have been injured left unattended or otherwise put at direct risk of harm as a result of operations by DHS personnel. In February, Blumenthal and Garica hosted a public forum on constitutional violations and abuses by ICE. The forum featured testimony from Ryan Schwank, a whistleblower who spoke publicly for the first time about his experience as an Instructor for the incoming “surge” of new ICE recruits at the ICE Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (“FLETC”) in Glynco, Georgia. Teyana Gibson Brown, a U.S. citizen and resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, also testified about ICE agents forcefully entering her home without a judicial warrant, breaking down her door and pointing guns at her family. Stevan Bunnell, the General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017, testified as well. Also in February, Blumenthal and Garcia hosted a forum to receive testimony on the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force by DHS agents. The forum featured testimony from Brent and Luke Ganger , brothers of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, and Antonio Romanucci , the attorney representing their family; Marimar Martinez , Aliya Rahman , and Martin Daniel Rascon , all of whom were violently assaulted by DHS agents; and Seth Stoughton , a former police officer and Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. In December, Blumenthal and Garcia received testimony from five U.S. citizens who were assaulted, detained, and denied their constitutional rights by DHS agents. The forum featured testimony from Americans across the country: Wilmer Chavarria, from Vermont; Dayanne Figueroa, from Illinois; Javier Ramirez, from California; George Retes, from California; and Andrea Velez, from California. Blumenthal also wrote Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) David Venturella requesting a meeting and demanding information about a dramatic increase in immigration enforcement activity in Connecticut over the last several weeks. The surge has focused on Danbury and nearby towns, where people have been targeted dropping their children off at school and going to work. “Over the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents have sown fear and panic among parents, children, and workers as they detained scores of people in Danbury and other towns in Connecticut. What should have been a time of excitement and community as children in Connecticut return to school has quickly turned into a time of genuine terror,” Blumenthal wrote. “ICE’s actions in Connecticut showcased cruelty and brutality, as well as disregard for the safety and well-being of community members, especially children. They fostered an environment of fear that will undoubtedly impact school attendance rates and the emotional health of students, generally.” The full text of Blumenthal’s letter is available here . On Twitter/X, Blumenthal further slammed the harmful tactics used by ICE agents in Danbury and in communities across the country. “Cruelty is the point. ICE’s goal is to sow fear in communities like Danbury. While we push for reforms in Congress, we’ll support efforts to fight for justice owed to people detained,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X . Demanding Answers About Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Mail-In Voting After receiving information from a whistleblower, Blumenthal wrote Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers and documents about the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) rushed and potentially unlawful implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to restrict mail-in voting. “This brave whistleblower has come forward with disturbing details about USPS’ seemingly illegal plot to interfere in November’s midterms,” Blumenthal said. “Their system is set up to fail – and risk the right to vote for millions of Americans who cast their ballots by mail. Given this new information, such sloppiness and haste seems clearly part of a purposeful attempt to create chaos and prevent people from voting. I am demanding answers and accountability.” “The crown jewel of American democracy—our historic record of free and fair elections—deserves better than this reckless, slapdash effort,” said David Kligerman, Senior Vice President and Special Counsel at WhistleblowerAid.org, which represents the anonymous whistleblower. “Given this administration’s record on curtailing voting rights, these glaring issues in the ballot mail program raise a troubling question: are these bugs—or features? Now that these malignant flaws have been exposed by a brave whistleblower, the administration can choose to fix this dangerously haphazard program or barrel ahead toward a wholly preventable electoral disaster.” An anonymous whistleblower disclosure provided to Blumenthal includes new details about USPS’s attempts to build an online system, known as “the Portal,” and accompanying IT which will be used to screen ballots submitted by state election officials prior to USPS agreeing to mail them to voters. According to this whistleblower, USPS began work on the Portal a mere three-and-a-half months before it was meant to be deployed and has not put it through the standard testing an online system and its related IT like this typically requires. USPS has also reportedly implemented an impracticable zero percent failure rate that could result in a massive number of rejected ballots with no opportunity for appeal. In April, Blumenthal joined U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act (Absentee MVP Act), which would block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots and protect the right to vote by mail. Blumenthal’s letter to Postmaster General Steiner, which includes the whistleblower’s disclosure, is available here . On Twitter/X, Blumenthal reacted to the USPS’s statement on the development of a U.S. Federal Ballot Mail Portal. “Absolutely nothing in the Postal Service’s statement denies or contradicts the deeply disturbing details of the whistleblower’s disclosure. Most importantly, it does nothing to directly address the fears of voters that USPS will refuse to deliver their ballots based on the output of a shoddy computer system they started building four months ago. ‘Just trust us’ is not acceptable. The Postal Service stated their commitment to transparency & accountability so I look forward to their detailed response to my specific questions & production of documents,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X . Slamming FanDuel for Misleading Response to Inquiry About Promo Video Targeting Gambling Addict Blumenthal and U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC) demanded answers after FanDuel refused to adequately respond to the lawmakers’ questions about disturbing reports that the sportsbook repeatedly targeted problem gamblers with predatory perks to keep them trapped in their addiction, including with a personal message from Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, Bryce Harper. Last month, the lawmakers wrote to FanDuel, Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) demanding answers about the policies that enabled this predatory promotion. In a follow-up letter sent to FanDuel Chief Executive Officer Christian Genetski, the lawmakers called out the sportsbook for providing “misleading and incomplete” responses to their initial inquiry and for failing to adequately address its exploitative VIP services and perks. “We remain unconvinced that FanDuel is making an active effort to protect bettors from harmful gambling and instead appears to be promoting addiction. We demand real answers to our previous letter and for FanDuel to explain this complete failure to respond to significant matters of public interest,” the lawmakers wrote. The lawmakers continued, “In its August 14th response, FanDuel failed to answer our questions about the specific steps taken to vet and monitor VIP activities, the extent to which VIP managers have encouraged problem gambling with other customers (including such videos), and any changes that it will make to its VIP program after this indefensible conduct.” The lawmakers continued, “Moreover, in its response, FanDuel fails to demonstrate any commitment to its customers’ well-being through any meaningful limitations on exploitative and dangerous marketing and business practice. FanDuel also boasts of its work with state regulators to meet requirements for licensed sportsbooks and other state laws on gambling yet fails to mention how its prediction markets app, FanDuel Predicts, undermines the integrity of—if not bypasses—those very regulations. FanDuel’s so-called ‘commitment’ to its customers rings especially hollow when it is pushing out harmful and addictive features such as VIP perks, constant push notifications, and personalized promotions.” The full text of the lawmakers’ letter is available here . FanDuel’s August 14 response to the lawmakers is available here . The lawmakers’ initial letters to FanDuel, MLB, and MLBPA are available here . On Twitter/X, Blumenthal highlighted his letter and further slammed FanDuel for its targeting of gambling addicts. “FanDuel preyed on problem gamblers, now it’s attempting to dodge Congressional accountability. I won’t stop demanding answers until FanDuel comes clean,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X . Urging Support for Kidnapped Ukrainian Children Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) along with U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) wrote Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to move quickly in awarding $25 million the State Department has made available to “support the identification, return, rehabilitation, and reintegration of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia and Russian-occupied territories.” Although the funding was announced in March, it has not yet been distributed. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred to Russia or areas in Ukraine occupied by Russia. “While we understand the need for rigorous review, thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children remain separated from their families, and every delay extends the pain and suffering they and their families have already endured,” the members wrote. The full text of the bipartisan, bicameral letter is available here . Blumenthal Bulletin Blumenthal slammed Hegseth’s purges at the Department of Defense. Blumenthal highlighted his GRID Act to ensure Big Tech and its partners bear the costs as data centers expand. Blumenthal slammed the Trump family investing in Polymarket while the CFTC sues states for regulating it. Blumenthal celebrated Tweed Airport’s 95 th birthday. Blumenthal marked 110 years of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in Guilford. Blumenthal attended the Annual CT United Ride. Blumenthal attended the annual Terryville Lions Country Fair. Blumenthal attended the Brooklyn Fair. -30-