Hickenlooper, Colleagues Renew Demands to DHS for Civilian Protections, Greater Transparency

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and 38 Senate colleagues called for stronger accountability measures for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers following the two fatal shootings during immigration enforcement operations in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas. The senators demanded DHS fulfill its previous commitments to deploy and expand the usage of body-worn cameras, strengthen officer identification requirements, and review enforcement protocols.

"The recent fatal shootings involving U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, specifically within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, coupled with similar incidents elsewhere in the country, are completely unacceptable," wrote the senators. "Rather than making our communities safer, these actions endanger our citizens and seriously undermine confidence in law enforcement generally."

"The tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startling similarities," continued the senators. "In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intended targets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle."

Hickenlooper has been outspoken in the face of ICE's lawlessness and demanded a top-to-bottom overhaul of the agency to stop ICE from terrorizing our communities. Hickenlooper also voted against the DHS funding bill because it failed to overhaul ICE. He has consistently pushed for more oversight and transparency for federal immigration enforcement efforts, and has worked to help families desperately searching for loved ones arrested by ICE. In January, Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor to denounce the horrifying killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, condemn the reports that families in Eagle County found "death cards" left in the cars of family members taken by ICE agents, and to demand the overhaul of ICE. He's shown up at ICE facilities previously to conduct congressional oversight visits and raise concerns about ICE disregarding due process. He helped launch an investigation into ICE's unlawful obstruction of congressional oversight and introduced bills to ban ICE from wearing masks, prevent immigration enforcement from targeting schools, hospitals, polling locations, and places of worship, and cut back the excessive funding that MAGA Republicans gave them.

The full letter can be found HERE and below:

Dear Secretary Mullin:

The recent fatal shootings involving U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, specifically within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in Biddeford, Maine, and Houston, Texas, coupled with fatalities during similar incidents elsewhere in the country, are completely unacceptable. Rather than making our communities safer, these actions endanger our citizens and seriously undermine confidence in law enforcement generally.

The tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startling similarities. In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intended targets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle. The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel), along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approaches necessary to prevent such tragedies.

These recent events have further compromised the credibility of DHS and fractured public trust within communities across our country. In each case, DHS quickly issued statements asserting that officers were acting in self-defense, even before evidence of the facts surrounding the incidents had been gathered. Compounding this failure, no DHS officials involved in these fatal shootings wore body-worn cameras that could be reviewed by investigators or members of the public.

While DHS has previously acknowledged that body-worn cameras promote public trust and increase officer and public safety, accountability, and transparency, the Department has clearly not prioritized acquiring cameras. Recent statements from DHS and the White House assert that DHS could not acquire cameras due to the government shutdown. However, since July 2025, DHS received nearly $40 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that could have been used to swiftly acquire and deploy body-worn cameras for both existing ICE law enforcement officers and the reported 10,000 additional officers hired since enactment of OBBBA. Contrary to recent statements made by the Department and the White House, DHS has had more than sufficient time and funding to procure and deploy a body-worn camera for every officer before the end of 2025.

Following public outrage in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the former Secretary announced in February of this year that DHS law enforcement officers would be required to wear body-worn cameras across the country, and ICE issued a directive reinforcing its policy to activate body-worn cameras during enforcement activities wherever cameras are available. Then-Secretary Noem stated that "[a]s funding is available, the body-worn camera program will be expanded nationwide." In March of this year, the White House border czar, Tom Homan, stated that the administration would expand the use of body-worn cameras by DHS officers undertaking immigration enforcements and require footage, in addition to ending roving patrols. The recent tragedies confirm that neither of these commitments were honored.

As we underscored during the subsequent funding negotiations earlier this year, implementing comprehensive accountability and oversight reforms for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is necessary both to protect the public and restore trust in the work of your agency. Our reform proposals are based upon the standards applicable to virtually every law enforcement agency in the country (except immigration enforcement officers), including visibly displayed identification, no masks, and body-worn cameras.

In recent weeks, federal agents have aggressively ramped up enforcement operations, reportedly arresting thousands of immigrants in a matter of days. Following the public backlash from these most recent fatal shootings, your Department has once again committed to distributing body-worn cameras, stating that every ICE arrest team will have at least one law enforcement officer equipped with a camera going forward and promising that all field offices will receive them within the next 60 days. Acting ICE Director Venturella also went on the record promising members of Congress that all field agents would be outfitted by the end of July. We view this timeline not as a projection, but as a firm, binding commitment to which we will hold the Department accountable.

Furthermore, to strengthen public safety and minimize dangerous operational confusion, we urge an immediate policy change regarding agency branding. To help ensure clear accountability and avoid misleading the public, ICE personnel engaged in interior enforcement must immediately cease wearing tactical gear, vests, or uniforms labeled with the generic term "POLICE" or "POLICEICE." All operational uniforms should explicitly and exclusively identify personnel as "ICE." In addition, agents should be required to identify themselves as "ICE" when making arrests and uniforms must clearly be identified as "ICE."

Finally, given the immediate need for administrative accountability following these tragedies, we request detailed information in response to the following questions:

1. What is DHS's specific plan to respond to the public's interest in timely, transparent, and independently verified investigations into these incidents?

2. What are the vetting procedures with respect to new ICE recruits? Does ICE consider records of domestic violence and abuse from family courts in its vetting?

3. What immediate updates or reviews are being made to ICE vehicle pursuit and traffic stop policies, including enhanced training specifically applicable to traffic stops to ensure they prioritize public and officer safety?

4. Beyond the deployment of body-worn cameras, what additional oversight, reporting requirements, or public safety measures is the agency implementing?

We remain supportive of removing dangerous convicted criminals from our communities, but this goal can and must be achieved without endangering these very communities in the process. By no stretch could either of the victims in Texas and Maine be characterized as "the worst of the worst," making these tragic deaths even more egregious. The American people deserve clarity and accountability. We urge you to honor your Department's earlier commitments and take immediate action to implement these necessary reforms. We also stand ready to work with you to codify reforms into law.

We look forward to hearing from you at the earliest possible date.

Sincerely,

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