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ICE is out of control: Jayapal demands accountability
Jayapal’s rebuke follows a 300 percent surge in ICE arrests under Trump’s renewed crackdown, citing nationwide abuses and systemic failures.
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Anushka Pathak - Sat, 04, Oct 2025
- 16:29 EDT
- 20
Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal ; An ICE vehicle / Courtesy: ‘X’ via @RepJayapal ; REUTERS/Octavio Jones
Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has sharply criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for what she called “increasingly violent tactics” that have turned American neighborhoods into “militarized zones.”
“ICE is out of control,” Jayapal said in a statement on Oct. 4, citing multiple recent incidents—spanning Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Alabama—as evidence of unchecked force and systemic failures within the agency.
Jayapal, who serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt recent raids and investigate alleged abuses by ICE agents against civilians, journalists, and even U.S. citizens.
Her remarks come amid a sharp escalation in ICE enforcement under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown. Since his January 2025 inauguration, mass deportations have surged, with ICE reporting a 300 percent jump in arrests.
ICE is out of control, and we must hold them accountable for their abuses of power. pic.twitter.com/cT203J7K2Y
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) October 3, 2025
In one of the most alarming cases, ICE agents in Chicago rappelled from helicopters during an Oct. 1 predawn raid on a South Shore apartment complex, detaining dozens of residents—including U.S. citizens and legal immigrants—for hours in freezing conditions. Witnesses described agents in tactical gear surrounding the building and separating families at gunpoint.
Days earlier, on Sept. 9 in Los Angeles, 79-year-old U.S. citizen Rafie Ollah Shouhed was tackled and severely injured during a workplace raid at his car wash. Shouhed suffered multiple fractures and head trauma before being released without charges. He has since filed a $50 million claim against the federal government alleging excessive force.
Adding to ICE’s mounting credibility crisis, a Mexican immigrant wounded by a sniper in a recent shooting at the agency’s Dallas field office has died of his injuries, officials confirmed on Sept. 30.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the victim as Miguel Angel Garcia, 31, a house painter who reportedly came to the U.S. as a child. Garcia becomes the second detainee killed in the attack, underscoring the volatile atmosphere surrounding immigration enforcement operations nationwide.
"These indiscriminate and unlawful raids, where people, including U.S. citizens, are being arrested because they are not white, must stop. The American people deserve much better," Jayapal said.
The lawmaker’s statement coincides with Democratic efforts to draft legislation curbing ICE’s authority. DHS has yet to comment on the allegations.
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