In response to recent events in Minneapolis, CAC Vice President Praveen Fernandes issued the following reaction:

Within the past 3 weeks, our nation has witnessed in Minneapolis the brutal and senseless killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These tragedies come after months of ICE’s national campaign of terror targeting immigrants, perceived immigrants, and any person who stands up for the rights of their fellow community members. Compounding the outrage, instead of working with local elected officials and local law enforcement in Minnesota to vigorously investigate, the Trump administration has impeded investigation at nearly every step.

These are not the actions of a presidential administration or a government agency interested in accountability to the law, whether constitutional or statutory. Congress should rein in this lawless behavior by exercising its control through the appropriations process. Checks and balances are central to our nation’s constitutional design, but checks and balances don’t work if institutions ignore the role the Constitution assigns to them. Congress has been ignoring its role as a check on the executive for far too long—and we’re now seeing the tragic consequences.