Testifying on Interior Immigration Enforcement: Citizen Arrests, DHS Overreach, and Erosion of Rights

Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick delivered oral testimony before Congress exposing skyrocketing “at-large” arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), profiling, wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens, and the urgent need for congressional reform.

What this testimony covers:

• ICE’s rapid expansion of “at-large” arrests — including a sharp rise in arrests of people with no criminal record.
• The spread of aggressive enforcement tactics like collateral arrests, roving patrols, and worksite raids.
• How appearance-based profiling has led to U.S. citizens and permanent residents being wrongly detained.
• The public-safety consequences of prioritizing immigration arrests over other federal law-enforcement needs.
• The urgent need for Congress to restrict overreach, require clear officer identification, and prohibit profiling.

The expansion of interior immigration enforcement doesn’t just affect noncitizens. As “at-large” arrests and aggressive enforcement tactics grow, more U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are being caught up — often wrongfully — in sweeping immigration operations. That undermines trust in law enforcement, erodes civil liberties, and makes communities less safe for everyone.

Without legislative reform, this overreach risks permanently damaging the social fabric of immigrant and mixed-status communities across the country.