I showed up at an ICE Facility unannounced.

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.

Despite what Donald Trump has claimed, this isn't about going after dangerous individuals, or public safety, or justice — but fear. Inside that facility, I witnessed the real, human cost of Trump's cruelty up close. They're going after good people — people who belong with their families and in their communities, not locked inside detention centers.

There have been so many excesses and abuses all over the country; the American people have no confidence in this institution. ICE should be abolished. And as long as the Trump administration continues wrongfully targeting members of our communities, detaining children, and tearing families and lives apart — I refuse to stay quiet about it or be complicit.

In solidarity,

Jim