RELEASE: Gottheimer Announces “ICE Standards Act” for Clear, Commonsense Guardrails for Homeland Security

Above: Gottheimer announces new legislation to hold ICE and DHS accountable.

PALISADES PARK, NJ — Today, January 28, 2026, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced the ICE Standards Act, commonsense legislation to establish professional, constitutional guardrails for federal homeland security and immigration enforcement.

Gottheimer’s new ICE Standards Act will:

• Establish mandatory immigration enforcement training standards, including initial and annual training in de-escalation, constitutional search and seizure, and conducting operations appropriately in public and protest settings; as well as an immediate report to Congress detailing the training agents are receiving.

• Require the use of body-worn and vehicle dashboard cameras during enforcement operations, ensuring transparency and accountability.

• Set clear uniform and identification standards, ensuring ICE agents are clearly identifiable unless formally approved for undercover work.

• Ensure risk-minimization and de-escalation during encounters, requiring agents to make every effort to reduce risk and defuse situations, which is critical as ICE and CBP increasingly encounter the public during enforcement activities.

• Draw a firm constitutional line protecting American citizens, requiring every reasonable effort to verify citizenship before detention and prohibiting harassment or deportation of U.S. citizens, which is already federal law.

• Protect sensitive locations, by prohibiting enforcement at locations including schools, hospitals, places of worship, and voting locations without an exigent circumstance.

• Require advance notification and transparency with state and local law enforcement during federal immigration operations within a jurisdiction or municipality.

“I believe that you can have tough borders, keep the gang members, terrorists, and other criminals out — and still live up to our values. But, we certainly don’t need inadequately trained ICE agents, with zero guardrails, roaming the streets,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “That’s why I’m announcing new legislation, the ICE Standards Act, to put clear, enforceable standards in place for the Department of Homeland Security and its ICE immigration officers — standards that will protect the public, protect officers, and uphold the rule of law.”

Video of Gottheimer’s announcement can be found here.

This legislation comes in the wake of deeply troubling incidents, including the fatal shootings of two American citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.

Currently, federal immigration enforcement agents are reportedly receiving only eight weeks of training, compared to NJ State Trooper academy training that lasts approximately six months. Reports also indicate that hundreds of American citizens have been wrongly arrested during immigration raids. Arbitrary arrest quotas put in place by DHS and this Administration — some 3,000 a day — have driven immigration enforcement to focus their energy on law-abiding, tax-paying residents, rather than hardened criminals who are the true dangers to local communities. More than half of the people ICE has arrested have no criminal convictions.

Gottheimer was joined by Palisades Park Mayor Chong “Paul” Kim, Palisades Park Councilman Christopher Kwak, Palisades Park Councilman Suk “John” Min, Palisades Park Councilwoman Christine Won-Yoon, Bergenfield Councilman Marc Pascual, Palisades Park Police Director Mike Gardner, and Steve Kuhn, First Vice President of the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey (STFA).

Below: Gottheimer announcing new legislation for commonsense guardrails for homeland security and immigration enforcement.

Gottheimer’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here.

I believe strongly that you can have secure, tough borders and a smart, legal immigration policy. We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants — and that’s how we built our great country — like my great-grandparents and my wife’s dad and grandparents, who came here after escaping the Holocaust. And it’s how it still grows stronger today. In the United States, our diversity, assembled over many generations, remains our greatest strength. They looked up at Lady Liberty, after passing through Ellis Island, and saw the inscription of the words we’ve all learned, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

I believe that you can have tough borders, keep the gang members, terrorists, and other criminals out — and still live up to our values, offering the promise of our democracy to newcomers looking to achieve that same American dream our families did – to breathe free. We can do both. 

But we need to know who is in our country and who is not. And, so, immigration enforcement must be carried out professionally, lawfully, and with fact-driven accountability — because no individual and no government agency is above the Constitution.

In too many towns and cities right now, we’ve lost control of that sacred responsibility to our citizens and to many people who have a legal right to be here – to feel safe and protected in your community. But, instead, we are seeing too many instances of recklessness that endanger our neighbors and our law enforcement officers. As one Republican Senator said this week, “We’re at a situation where this just isn’t safe … It’s not safe for bystanders. It’s not safe for law enforcement.” 

That’s just not okay in the greatest country the world has ever known. 

Over recent weeks, the country witnessed disturbing videos out of Minneapolis showing federal immigration agents shooting and killing two American citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti.  

That is disturbing, it’s tragic, and it demands answers, so that we can work to restore public trust. And that just added to months of incidents of unidentified masked officers aggressively rounding people up, including yanking American citizens right out of their homes, barging into churches, schools, and roaming Home Depot, Target, and school parking lots as parents drop off their kids.  They’re going after people with U.S. passports, acting like thugs.

What’s also troubling is that after the shooting of Alex Pretti, DHS officials blocked state investigators from accessing the scene and removed evidence — prompting a federal judge to order that the evidence not be destroyed or altered. In the case of Renee Good, state officials said they have been barred from participating in the investigation.  Also in the Alex Pretti case, the investigation was taken out of the FBI’s hands and given to DHS to investigate.

That is not how immigration enforcement should operate in this country, and not how our state and federal officials should work together.

Across the nation, immigration enforcement has sharply ramped up in non-border states, with more aggressive arrests in homes, workplaces, and public spaces. They said they were going to go after the “worst of the worst,” but, according to reporting, more than half of the people ICE is arresting have no criminal convictions whatsoever. This includes that 5-year-old boy and a corrections officer from Maine. Earlier this month in Minnesota, a U.S. citizen was detained at gunpoint in his home by federal agents without a warrant, forced to walk outside into freezing conditions in his underwear. 

Another 5-year-old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras earlier this month. And, a Maryland mother was detained for 25 days in ICE custody despite having documentation proving that she is a U.S. citizen. 

As I said, I believe in keeping out gang members, criminals, and terrorists, but we certainly don’t need inadequately trained ICE agents, with zero guardrails, roaming the streets. And let me be clear about the training. I’m a huge supporter of law enforcement. I am beyond grateful for all they do. And you know why we have the best here in Jersey? Not just because they are committed to our communities, but because they’re well-trained. 

In Jersey, state troopers spend six months at the academy and another six months riding along with a more senior partner.  Our local and county departments hold their cadets to a similar standard. They learn how to handle tough situations. How to respond and de-escalate a tough situation. How to protect themselves and the community.  According to reporting, most ICE officers receive eight weeks of training. Compare that to six months. You can understand why they might not be the best trained for the task they’ve been given. 

And DHS is hiring more officers from wherever they can find them right now – just to get them onto the streets and start piling up arrests. So, you can understand why they might not be best trained and prepared for the situations they are thrown into.   

Reporting indicates that hundreds of American citizens have been wrongly arrested during immigration raids, and many have been wrongly deported — something that should never happen to American citizens.   

A big reason for these aggressive immigration pushes — arbitrary arrest quotas put in place by DHS and this Administration, some 3,000 a day, forcing immigration enforcement to focus their energy on law-abiding, tax-paying residents, rather than hardened criminals who are the true dangers to our community. ICE has conducted operations right here in North Jersey — including in Teaneck, Palisades Park, Bergenfield, and Hackensack.

That is absolutely inexcusable, and it should alarm every American. 

Let’s not forget, the buck stops with leadership — in this case, that’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. After all that’s happened on her watch, she’s got to resign or be replaced.

But her leaving — while necessary — won’t solve the problem on its own. We actually need to fix and improve the system at DHS.

That’s why today, I’m announcing new legislation, the ICE Standards Act, to put clear, enforceable standards in place for the Department of Homeland Security and its ICE immigration officers — standards that will protect the public, protect officers, and uphold the rule of law. 

These are policies that should be put into place immediately, and, frankly, should have been in the Homeland Security funding package we voted on in Congress last week. 

This legislation is not about defunding immigration enforcement or making it harder for officers to do their jobs. I’m completely opposed to that. It’s just the opposite. It’s about making immigration enforcement better, more transparent, and more accountable, and making the right investments in the Department and officers. It’s also about getting the right guardrails in place, so that we have the rules of the road to protect everyone, and keep our communities safer.

First, this bill sets much-needed training standards for federal immigration enforcement officers.

Right now, as I mentioned, reporting suggests some officers receive as little as eight weeks of training — compared to approximately six months for New Jersey State Troopers. That gap puts civilians at risk, and it puts state and local officers at risk. 

This lack of training and the horrific incidents that have ensued have done a massive disservice to our well-trained, effective immigration enforcement officers. We do not want untrained thugs doing damage to that reputation with their recklessness. 

As a former state trooper said to me, “These guys wearing bandanas and gleefully pulling Americans from their cars make all officers with a badge look bad.”

My bill requires DHS to immediately tell Congress what training its officers are receiving, and it mandates officers to be trained upon hiring and annually on de-escalation, constitutional search and seizures, and operating appropriately with protestors present.

That matters — especially when immigration enforcement officers are increasingly operating in community settings and environments they are not traditionally trained for.

Second, the bill requires the use of body-worn cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras during enforcement operations.

These cameras protect the public — and they protect officers. Ask police here in Jersey – those cameras are key. This bill explicitly preserves an officer’s right to review footage, which our cops know is critical. The footage also ensures full transparency for the public.

Right now, the Homeland funding bill in Congress includes funding for cameras — but no mandate to actually use them. This bill closes that gap, ensuring transparency and accountability.

Third, the bill establishes clear standards for uniforms and identification.

Officers must clearly display their agency with an appropriate uniform or identification, unless they receive written supervisory approval for undercover operations. The goal is transparency, so communities know exactly who is operating in their streets.

I’m always for protecting officers, and we must do everything to keep them safe from doxing or other attacks. But, people also deserve to know who is operating in their communities – and who’s approaching them. There is a way to handle both, and we should do it. 

Fourth, the bill establishes clear risk-minimization and de-escalation standards, requiring officers to make every effort to reduce risk and defuse situations.

Fifth — and this is critical and key to our Constitutional rights — the bill draws a firm line when it comes to American citizens.

Every single reasonable effort must be made to verify citizenship status before they’re put under arrest or randomly rounded up and thrown into the back of a vehicle. U.S. citizens may not be deported, and American citizens may not be harassed during enforcement operations. Full stop.

Sixth, the bill protects sensitive locations.

Immigration enforcement will be prohibited at schools, hospitals, places of worship, and voting locations. Kids in schools shouldn’t have to worry about anything except learning. Families should be able to worship. People should be able to seek medical care without fear that they’ll never return home. 

For more than 30 years, federal policy restricted immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, including houses of worship. This should be the law.

That is common sense, and that lives up to our values.

And, finally, my legislation requires notification and transparency with state and local law enforcement when federal immigration enforcement operations occur in their jurisdictions.

Local law enforcement should not be left in the dark — especially as detention and deportation activity accelerates. Proper notification and communication improves transparency, protects officers, and makes everyone safer. The FBI should also be allowed to do its job and investigate – not be pushed aside, as they have been in Minnesota and elsewhere. 

These are not crazy ideas. They are commonsense ideas — many of which already have bipartisan support.

I’m encouraged that members of both parties have expressed serious concerns about recent ICE tragedies, because this shouldn’t be a partisan issue.

I was also pleased to see that Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino will call he Acting ICE Director, CBP Commissioner, and  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director before his committee to testify next month and get all the facts. 

Facts matter.  The Constitution matters. Due process matters. Rule of law matters. And human life matters.

Those are all things we all agree on.

We can and should fund the government. We should not shut it down. And I’m ready to go back this week to vote again on a new package, if that’s what’s necessary. But that funding for DHS has to come with basic, smart guardrails that ensure transparency, professionalism, and accountability. It can be a revised DHS bill, or a separate vote. Either is fine by me. 

But unchecked power undermines public safety, puts officers in impossible situations, and erodes trust in institutions we depend on.

This legislation is about the rule of law — and making sure homeland security actions reflect our values as Americans. 

And, ultimately, I believe it should be followed by comprehensive immigration reform, something that many of us have been working on for years. Too many of my colleagues on the far right, though, have opted to use immigration as a political weapon in elections, instead of fixing the problem. Last Congress, there was a thoughtful bipartisan bill that was killed at the last minute because the presidential nominee wanted to use the issue for politics. Well, it appears that the chickens have come home to roost. So, maybe it’s time to finally fix these issues.  

I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move this legislation forward and then taking on the bigger issues, helping us live up to our values as a country.  

We need to lower the temperature and work together to make the changes and improvements we need — that way, we can ensure our best days are ahead of us.

Thank you. God bless you, God bless our first responders, and God bless the United States of America.

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