We are devastated, outraged, and profoundly alarmed by the escalating state killings, violent kidnappings, and the horrific response to those peacefully calling out injustice in Minneapolis and around our country. A surge of unchecked federal agents has turned American streets into scenes of state violence and terror. Recent deaths of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and at least 53 other deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody were not inevitable atrocities. They were the callous result of a system that has deserted discretion, accountability, the value of human life, and this nation’s revered First Amendment rights.
In the Quaker tradition, we affirm that there is a divine spark in every person. To have that Light extinguished by agents of the state is a grave moral failure.
In the Quaker tradition, we affirm that there is a divine spark in every person. To have that Light extinguished by agents of the state is a grave moral failure. We call for unencumbered and cooperative investigations in response to these horrors, and we demand Congress use its authority to bring about accountability and reject funding more unchecked power by ICE and CBP.
What is unfolding in our communities is not “border security” or enforcement of immigration laws in the interior. Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after 9/11, migration has been falsely recast as a military threat—met with weapons, tactics, and deployments more suited to war zones than neighborhoods. From indiscriminate ICE raids and the unjustified presence of Border Patrol deep into the interior to illegal federal deployments against cities, the Trump administration has escalated the treatment of our neighbors as enemies and our cities as occupied territory.
Accountability is long overdue— Congress must exercise its role as an independent body, exerting checks and balances through legislation, oversight, and the power of the purse. It must ensure that President Trump and his administration upholds constitutional freedoms and human rights. We thank the legislators leading with moral clarity and call on all members of Congress to join.
From the agents involved to Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump himself—strengthened by the $170 billion dollar enforcement budget passed by Congress last year—DHS leadership is carrying out lethal policies that brutalize our communities, abandon the rule of law, and deny transparency and meaningful oversight, betraying the public trust. Secretary Noem must resign or be impeached and removed from office.
But accountability cannot stop there.
Congress must remove the fiscal year 2026 DHS appropriations bill from any larger funding packages, advancing it only once Congress can guarantee our communities’ safety and civil liberties. Congress must rein in federal immigration authorities with not another dollar for rogue operations that terrorize children, occupy neighborhoods, and carry out state violence. True security is rooted not in fear and violence, but in justice, dignity, and our shared humanity.
True security is rooted not in fear and violence, but in justice, dignity, and our shared humanity.
We hold those harmed and scared in the Light. We honor the witness of the heroes standing up to state terror and nonviolently organizing for justice in their communities. As Quakers, we affirm that protecting every Light and every right is our highest calling, one that no policy, power, or political agenda can ever exceed.
