Last week, I conducted an unannounced oversight visit to an ICE facility in Burlington, Massachusetts. Members of Congress have the legal right to inspect these facilities without warning.

I made this visit because the people deserve the truth. When an administration is rounding people up, operating behind locked doors, and refusing to be transparent, Congress has a responsibility to show up, ask tough questions, and demand answers.

Once inside, I spoke with a man who arrived at the facility earlier that day. He's seeking asylum and has been attending his scheduled appointments — doing exactly what we ask of asylum seekers. Then, as he spoke about his wife and children, he broke down and cried. I promised I'd contact his wife as soon as I left the facility — but that's just not enough.

Before anything else: thank you.

Thank you for preserving our democracy, whether you're speaking out, hitting the streets, stocking a food pantry, protecting your neighbors, amplifying important stories, or simply uplifting one another. This is a tough chapter for our country. But people like you are the reason I still believe in where we can go next.

Right now, we are doing two things at once:

1. Holding Donald Trump and his allies accountable for the damage they are doing, and
2. Laying the groundwork to take back the House so we can stop that damage at its inception.

Everything we are fighting for right now runs through one simple truth: to stop the madness, we must take back control of the House. As long as Republicans are in charge, the fights I have been leading since January are blocked, delayed, or distorted.

I am doing everything I can with the tools I have. But the truth is, our ability to deliver real change depends on the majority. That is why this first end-of-quarter deadline of the Election Year matters so much. If we are serious about taking back the House and moving this country forward, we need to build the resources right now to compete and win.

I have stood on the House floor to try to stop unauthorized wars before they begin. But without a Democratic majority, accountability is optional, and oversight is weakened.