WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently joined their Democratic committee colleagues in calling on Chairman Rand Paul to conduct desperately needed oversight of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS), in wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, the escalating use of excessive force and other improper actions including the continued use of masked agents and unmarked cars, as well as threats unrelated to immigration enforcement that appear intended to chill citizens’ protected First Amendment activities.
Last year, Slotkin and her colleagues introduced The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act of 2025, which would require immigration officers to display clear identification and strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability for the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and alarming immigration enforcement tactics that have terrorized communities across the nation.
In the letter, the senators point to increasingly violent actions by federal law enforcement officials, including the use of pepper balls against protestors exercising their First Amendment rights. The senators also raise concerns about federal law enforcement officers’ tactics, such as officers conducting operations while masked, refusing to properly identify themselves, and DHS leadership’s complete failure to enforce appropriate conduct in their officers’ interactions with the public.
The senators are calling for Chairman Paul to issue subpoenas if necessary and to hold a hearing with Administration officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, White House Border Czar Tom Homan, ICE Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Todd M. Lyons, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks, and U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to explain the Administration’s disregard for the law.
Finally, the senators are also seeking to ensure Chairman Paul will engage in needed oversight of the Administration and DHS by securing information about how DHS has diverted essential resources away from other critical homeland security missions, including investigating sex crimes against children and terrorist financing. U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined Slotkin and Peters in sending the letter.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
###