U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas has issued a sharp rebuke of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), accusing the agency of racial bias and unconstitutional conduct following a fatal ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis that killed a U.S. citizen.
Speaking during a hearing in Minnesota, Crockett described the current state of immigration enforcement as a defining moral test for the United States, warning that actions based on skin color, accents, or political dissent threaten core democratic principles.
“This looks like modern-day slave patrols,” Crockett said, drawing a historical parallel as she criticized what she described as judicial and executive sanctioning of racial profiling.
She argued that ICE has strayed far beyond its legal mandate of immigration enforcement, citing a growing number of U.S. citizens who have been arrested, injured, or killed during encounters with immigration agents.
“The last time I checked, ICE is only supposed to be doing immigration enforcement,” Crockett said. “Right now, we have a record number of U.S. citizens that have not only been arrested, but—as we saw with Renee—have been killed, maimed, bullied, brutalized, and unlawfully arrested.”
Her remarks referenced the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen who died during a Minneapolis ICE operation earlier this month, an incident that has intensified scrutiny of ICE tactics and accountability nationwide.
Crockett went further, characterizing the Trump administration’s approach to enforcement as abusive and corrosive to democratic norms.
“We are living with an abuser right now,” she said, adding that widespread fear and trauma are shaping how communities experience law enforcement and federal authority.
She urged Americans across racial, ethnic, and national lines to view the issue as a shared threat.
“Whether you are Black, white, Latino, African—whoever you are—we are all on the same sinking ship,” Crockett warned. “If we allow our constitutional rights to be ignored, our democracy will fall.”
The congresswoman’s comments come amid heightened national debate over immigration enforcement, civil liberties, and the role of federal agencies under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Civil rights groups have increasingly raised concerns about racial profiling, mistaken identity arrests of U.S. citizens, and the expanding scope of ICE operations.
Crockett closed her remarks by calling for collective resistance and accountability, framing the moment as one that demands public engagement rather than silence.
Her statements have since circulated widely online, further fueling calls for congressional oversight and potential reforms to federal immigration enforcement practices.
