NAACP & 74 Groups Urge Congress To Check ICE Tactics; Polls Agree

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

The NAACP is among 74 faith, civil rights and advocacy organizations that recently urged Congress “to take immediate action to check and hold accountable Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a growing pattern of violence, racial profiling, and constitutional violations.”

The NAACP and others sent a letter to Congress in the wake of not only Renee Good’s Jan. 7 death in Minneapolis but also the killing of another U.S. citizen, Keith Porter Jr., who was shot by an off-duty ICE officer on New Year’s Eve in Carson, Calif. A copy of the letter dated Jan. 15, 2026 is available on the NAACP’s website. It is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“Given the ongoing patterns of recklessness, violence, and harm – including record-high deaths in immigration custody, continuing, egregious assaults on U.S. citizens and immigrant communities, and blatant racial profiling – Congress must not, at this moment, write the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a blank check,” the letter states. “Instead, Congress must enact clear, enforceable guardrails in FY2026 appropriations or other legislation that protect constitutional rights, ensure transparency, and curb the abuse of power we see daily across the country.”

The letter continued, “It should be obvious that Congress has the authority under our Constitution to put conditions on the executive branch. When it fails to do its duty – or even to perform oversight – under our system of separation of powers, Congress is responsible for the consequences.”

“Last year, Congress provided this Administration with unprecedented resources for immigration enforcement, including $170 billion and 10,000 additional ICE agents. The results of this funding surge have been both predictable and alarming. Underqualified and poorly trained agents now operating under aggressive and unaccountable leadership are sowing chaos, fear, and committing rampant violations of due process.”

The letter, spearheaded by UnidosUs, another civil rights organization, also included signatories from the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the United Church of Christ, and Faith in Action East Bay in Oakland, Calif. The letter urged Congress to ban the use of masks by federal agents and to forbid military members and resources from being deployed for domestic policing operations and immigration enforcement.

In a statement released at a recent press conference, NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson said, “If Black, Latino, Asian American, and all our communities do not stand together now, we risk losing the very idea of America.”

“That is why we are calling on Congress and the federal courts to do their jobs and uphold the Constitution so that equal justice under law is a lived reality for everyone.”

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Meanwhile, a percentage of Americans calling ICE tactics “too tough” is rising, new polls show.

A recently released Quinnipiac University poll found 53 percent of registered voters saying the shooting of Good was not justified, 35 percent saying it was justified and 12 percent with no opinion. Over 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 6 in 10 independents said the shooting was not justified, but over three-quarters of Republicans said it was.

A new CNN poll found a 56 percent majority of Americans saying the shooting was an inappropriate use of force, with just 26 percent saying it was appropriate. Another 18 percent said they hadn’t heard enough to say. About half (51 percent) said that the fatal shooting reflects bigger problems with the way ICE is operating.

And a Jan. 18 CBS News/YouGov poll showed 5 percent more of Americans said that ICE’s operations are “too tough” in stopping and detaining people, bringing the total from 56 percent in November to 61 percent currently.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted Jan. 8-12 among 1,133 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.

The CNN poll was conducted Jan. 9-12 among 1,209 U.S. adults with an error margin of +/- 3.1 percentage points.