Washington, D.C., Feb. 6, 2026 — Pingree Unveils Bill to Protect Peaceful Observers and Bystanders from ICE Surveillance, Intimidation
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today unveiled new legislation to combat the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) aggressive and invasive surveillance and intimidation of peaceful observers. The Stop ICE Intimidation Act blocks funding for expanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surveillance tools and staffing until the agency fully discloses how it uses databases and facial recognition, who it targets, how long it keeps data, and whether it complies with constitutional protections and local laws. It also freezes ICE’s Clearview AI contract until Congress receives clear assurances that bystanders, observers, and protestors are not swept into the enforcement dragnet.
‘Donald Trump and Kristi Noem’s dangerous Department of Homeland Security has quietly built a vast surveillance apparatus that threatens the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens everywhere. From iris-scanning technology that can identify people in seconds to facial recognition databases with millions of records, these tools are being deployed not to enhance public safety, but to intimidate and silence lawful dissent. When a federal agent can photograph someone’s license plate, add them to a database, and label them a ‘domestic terrorist’ simply for filming ICE officers, we’ve crossed a dangerous line,’ Pingree said. ‘Mainers have seen firsthand how these surveillance tools are weaponized—people followed home, called on their personal phones, threatened for simply documenting what’s happening in their own communities. In a truly free society, citizens don’t live in fear of their government. My bill demands transparency and accountability and ensures that not one more taxpayer dollar is spent on this surveillance state.’
The Stop ICE Intimidation Act:
- Establishes that ICE surveillance and intimidation of observers—including the use of databases and facial recognition—raises serious constitutional concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments.
- Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for certain surveillance purposes and hiring additional ICE officers until the required congressional reports are submitted.
- Prohibits funding for the continuation of ICE’s contract with Clearview AI until ICE submits the required reports.
- Requires ICE to report to Congress within 30 days about exactly how it conducts surveillance; confirm it does not target bystanders or observers; explain how it uses, stores, shares, and deletes personal data from tools like Clearview AI; and demonstrate that its practices comply with constitutional protections and state and local laws governing facial recognition and surveillance.
Pingree’s effort comes amid disturbing reports of ICE rapidly expanding its surveillance arsenal—including new contracts for iris-scanning technology that allow agents to identify people in seconds during field operations, facial-recognition software from Clearview AI, and massive data-sharing arrangements that pull in IRS, Medicaid, and other personal records. Recent reporting has revealed that ICE can now access databases containing millions of biometric records, use mapping tools to locate individuals on digital maps, and tap into systems like SAVE that may sweep in information about U.S. citizens who have never consented to being part of an immigration database.
These tools are increasingly being used in the field, including against people who are simply documenting ICE activity. In one widely circulated incident in South Portland, a federal agent photographed a woman’s license plate after she filmed officers and told her, ‘We have a nice little database, and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.’ During ICE’s expanded enforcement operation ‘Catch of the Day’, Mainers reported being followed home, called on their personal cell phones, and threatened by agents. Civil liberties experts warn this kind of surveillance expansion, paired with aggressive enforcement tactics, raises profound constitutional and privacy concerns.
Pingree also supports sweeping and urgently-needed reforms to rein in ICE, including requiring body cameras, requiring judicial warrants for enforcement operations, prohibiting agents from hiding behind masks, allowing independent investigations into extrajudicial killings, preventing the detention and deportation of U.S. citizens, prohibiting racial profiling, and legally binding use of force policies are how we keep our communities safe. Pingree is among more than 160 members of Congress who have signed onto articles of impeachment for DHS Secretary Noem.
For more information about how Pingree is pushing back against the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement abuses, click here.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026 — Hirono, Colleagues Demand Department of Education Reverse Decision to End Funding for Minority-Serving Institutions
Today, U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined HELP Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and 23 of their Senate colleagues in urging the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to immediately reverse the Trump Administration’s harmful decision to unilaterally halt federal funding for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). In their letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the Senators criticized ED’s flawed usage of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) baseless decision to deem these programs unconstitutional, risking the education of millions of students of all ethnicities and backgrounds by cutting off discretionary and mandatory funding.
‘This decision is yet another example of this Administration attempting to circumvent Congress and its obligations to follow the law,’ wrote the Senators. ‘Unilaterally deciding that long-standing programs are unconstitutional, absent a ruling from the judiciary, sets a dangerous precedent and disrupts needed support that colleges and students rely on.’
The Senators blasted DOJ’s legal justification for declaring that both discretionary and mandatory MSI grant funding is unconstitutional, citing DOJ’s reliance on a Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College that discusses race-based admissions policies, not race-based funding allocations. The Senators emphasized that the factors a college or university can consider when evaluating a student for admission, as addressed in the Supreme Court decision, are unrelated to whether a school should be considered an MSI and that relying on that precedent is an ‘inappropriate subversion of duly-enacted federal law.’ MSIs are evaluated for consideration of federal funding based on the student population they serve, not their admission policies.
‘We urge you to allocate Title III and V discretionary and mandatory funds as Congress intended so that these institutions, which educate millions of working-class Americans, can continue to successfully serve every student they enroll and continue to be economic engines for the communities they serve across this nation,’ continued the Senators.
There are over 800 federally recognized MSIs, including Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs), and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving institutions (ANNHSIs). MSIs enroll over 5 million students, many of whom are first-generation college students. These institutions rely on federal funding to provide vital supports and services for students to help them complete their degrees. Historically, these programs have been authorized on a bipartisan basis in law. The Trump Administration’s decision to end funding for MSIs threatens the institutions’ ability to adequately serve the students they enroll of all backgrounds.
Senator Hirono has strongly opposed the Administration’s efforts to dismantle federal education programs, including those that support minority and underserved students. Last September, she joined Ranking Member Sanders and 22 other senators in expressing concerns about ED’s decision to reprogram funding for MSIs. More recently, in December, she held a spotlight forum to highlight the dangerous consequences of the Department’s illegal decision to transfer dozens of programs to other agencies (‘Dismantling Education: What the Trump Administration’s Illegal Attacks on Federal Programs Mean for Students, Families, and Educators’). In January, she followed up with an education roundtable featuring local leaders who were able to speak to the real impact these changes will have on students, families, educators, and communities in Hawaii.
In addition to the above senators, the letter was also signed by Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the letter is available here.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026 — Warren, Senators Launch Investigation into Trump Labor Department Slashing Worker Protections, Putting American Workers at Risk
New data reveals OSHA performed 20% fewer inspections and issued 42% fewer fines for severe workplace violations in 2025
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released new data revealing the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performed 20% fewer inspections and issued 42% fewer fines for severe workplace violations in 2025—indicating that the Trump Department of Labor may be discouraging inspectors from enforcing workplace safety laws. In response to the damning findings, Senator Warren and lawmakers launched a new investigation into the Department of Labor’s broader plans to eliminate key safety regulations, putting American workers at serious risk.
‘Your agency has tried to cloak your deregulatory agenda in the language of “putting workers first,” but the reality is that the Labor Department is prioritizing the interests of unscrupulous employers over Americans who work hard in dangerous environments to provide for their families,’ wrote the senators.
In a new letter to Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Keeling, Senator Warren pressed for answers regarding the decline in OSHA enforcement actions, and the Department’s recent attempts to roll back safety rules — including those that protect workers from leading causes of death on the job.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has proposed massive cuts to OSHA’s funding, threatening the agency’s ability to effectively oversee more than 8 million worksites across the country. At the same time, the Department of Labor (DoL) has rolled out a deregulatory agenda that proposes to get rid of many regulations that keep American workers safe, including:
- Eliminated the authority of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) —which protects coal miners from hazards like black lung disease— to require mine operates to ensure proper ventilation and prevent roof collapses in mines;
- Announced plans to eliminate requirements for adequate lighting on construction sites—even though about one of every twenty construction worker deaths are caused by visibility issues, including poor lighting. Construction is the leading sector for worker fatalities;
- Announced plans to limit OSHA’s ability to hold employers accountable for unsafe working conditions in inherently unsafe professions; and
- Loosened respirator requirements for workers exposed to carcinogens, lead, asbestos, and formaldehyde.
An independent analysis of OSHA enforcement actions during the first nine months of the Trump administration supported the data provided to Senator Warren’s office, finding that the agency brought 35 percent fewer cases than the same period in previous administrations. It also found that OSHA imposed just $94 million in penalties—47% lower compared to the first nine months of the last 17 years.
‘If employers know that they are unlikely to face hefty fines, they may be less likely to adhere to safety standards that keep American workers safe in their places of employment,’ warned the lawmakers.
The senators pressed the Department for critical information on these deregulatory actions by March 4, 2026, including answering whether OSHA has directed inspectors to reduce the number of inspections, citations issued for workplace violations, or reduce citations for a certain type of violation.
Washington D.C., Feb. 6, 2026 — Slotkin Warns Gabbard, Intelligence Leaders: Do Not Use the Intelligence Community to Target Americans
U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe, Acting Director of the National Security Agency Lieutenant General William Hartman, and Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Major General Constantin Nicolet. Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, raised concerns that the Trump Administration may be using U.S. intelligence personnel, tools, and resources to target Americans in violation of our laws and the Constitution.
Read the Bloomberg article here.
‘I write today with my deep concerns that the Trump Administration is using our intelligence community to target American citizens and to request your assurances that you have not and will not focus the organizations you oversee on the American public. As you know, the IC exists to defend the United States against foreign adversaries—not to monitor, investigate, or target Americans,’ Slotkin wrote.
‘Turning these tools against our own citizens would not only be illegal but would undercut longstanding American values of a right to privacy and ability to speak out against our government without fear of retribution,’ Slotkin continued.
Slotkin’s concerns stem from actions such as President Trump’s NSPM-7 memorandum that purports to label groups who oppose the administration’s policies as ‘domestic terrorists,’ the creation of ‘weaponization working groups’ led by Director Gabbard, and Director Gabbard’s involvement in the seizure of 2020 election records in Fulton Country, GA. Slotkin has been sounding the alarm on many of these concerns since last year.
Slotkin called on intelligence leaders to confirm, in writing, that no intelligence personnel, tools, or resources are being used to surveil or target Americans and to reaffirm those leaders’ commitment to operating within the Constitution and federal law.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2026 — Murphy to Republicans On Trump’s Attempts to Jail Democratic Lawmakers: We Can’t Let This Democracy Die On Our Watch
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate today to call on his Republican colleagues to recognize Donald Trump’s unprecedented, attempted indictment of six Democratic lawmakers as a grave threat to our democracy and unite with Democrats to put a stop to Trump’s relentless assault on free speech.
Murphy cautioned this failed indictment would not be the end of Trump’s attempts to jail Senators Kelly and Slotkin: ‘It doesn’t really matter that the grand jury refused to indict, because if they continue to come back over and over again for an indictment, they will likely find at some point, some compliant grand jury, and we will find our colleagues headed to jail simply for exercising their free speech.’
He called on Democrats and Republicans to set aside partisanship and stand up for their colleagues: ‘This is a moment where we could decide to agree. Not everything has to be skins and shirts, not everything that we think has to automatically be wrong. We could very easily decide this week that it is not acceptable for the President of the United States to attempt to throw into jail his political opponents in the Senate and in the House, and maybe that could provide a springboard for us to decide that there are other abuses of presidential authority that may, in the long run, harm both Republican and Democratic interests, but fundamentally harm the health of our democracy.’
Murphy argued Republicans would have never accepted Trump’s authoritarian attempts to suppress his political opponents’ free speech if they’d come from a Democratic president: ‘If the shoe was on the other foot, I want my Republican colleagues to think about what you would say if a Democratic president opened up a criminal investigation into the Chairman of the Federal Reserve simply over a dispute over interest rate policy? … Would our Republican colleagues think it was a red line if Sean Hannity was taken down off the air by a Democratic president’s FCC? … Or what if he indicted or attempted to indict two of your members, two Republicans, simply because they had raised their voices in objection to a Democratic president’s policies? We all know the answer to every single one of those questions.’
He urged his colleagues to stand up for the democratic project: ‘I understand that for all of us who have grown up in a relatively safe and secure American democracy, contested by foreign adversaries but never under any real threat that we were going to lose the democracy from within, have come to believe some sense of inevitability about the survivability of American democracy. But every civilization, every form of government, has an expiration date. Every attempt at Republicanism or democracy over the course of this globe’s history has ended, and ours will end at some point. Our job as senators, whether you have an ‘R’ after your name or a ‘D’ after your name, is to make sure that that end doesn’t happen on our watch.’
Murphy concluded by warning Republicans their inaction today could backfire in the long run: ‘This is a moment of test for the Senate…this is a moment that could break this institution permanently, if it is only Democrats standing up here and defending our colleagues. It should matter first that they are senators, that they were elected by the people of their state to represent Republicans and Democrats in their state. It should matter second, the party that is listed after their name.’
