Dear Republican Lawmakers (Action Alert!)

A Call for Accountability

While some mock as quaint the notion of contacting Members of Congress with requests for action, failure to do so—constituent silence—provides the context in which they operate on our behalf. During times of upheaval and mayhem like what we are experiencing now, directly demanding accountability is our fundamental responsibility. We lack legitimacy if we complain about our representatives’ and senators’ staking out their positions without having heard what we want. In that spirit, below is my letter to my Congressional delegation. I submitted it online—it’s not difficult. I did so not with a naive expectation that they will necessarily comply with my wishes. But I am contributing to the context in which they make decisions. I urge you to do the same. (This is not a substitute for direct action. I admire the pattern of neighbors rising in community response, and I support a massive national sit-in—in the streets—and general strike.)

Congressman ___/ Senator ____

I am a retired educator and social worker, and your constituent. Like millions of Americans, I have watched in dismay as recent events have been unfolding in Minnesota and elsewhere.

I support Immigration Enforcement within a framework of due process and respect for civil rights. I do not support abusive law enforcement. People like Stephen Miller have set a tone that contribute to a lack of accountability for federal agents, including ICE and CBP officers, by asserting they have “absolute immunity.” These officers are working within that context, and we have seen the shocking results.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has further contributed to a climate of hostility toward constitutional freedoms ad responsibilities, signaling institutional bias against people hurt and killed by federal agents, by defaming them as engaging in domestic terrorism before any investigation has taken place.

CBP field director Greg Bovino similarly has blamed protestors for being shot by agents, with no evidence and no completed investigation or evidence presented.

For these and other reasons, I implore you, as a lawmaker, to apply Congressional pressure on the administration to remove these three individuals from their positions of authority--authority which they have repeatedly abused, fanning the flames of crisis.

Ordinary citizens--your constituents--are being discouraged by some in the administration from engaging in protests because of the risks of violence due to being perceived as impeding federal officers. (An argument I reject—it shifts responsibility from armed government agents to the people asserting their rights.) If we are not to protest, what other avenues do we have to demand change?

The only thing I can think of is to contact you and the rest of the Oklahoma Congressional delegation with this request, because you are in the position of authority under the constitutional provisions of division of powers to exert direct pressure on the executive branch.

I call on you now to do so, urgently. Call forcefully for the removal of Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and Gregory Bovino as an act of accountability.

Gratefully,

Kevin Acers, Oklahoma City

UPDATE!

The Atlantic reports:

Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role as Border Patrol “commander at large” and will return to his former job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon, according to a DHS official and two people with knowledge of the change.

Bovino’s sudden demotion is the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration is reconsidering its most aggressive tactics after the killing Saturday of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents under Bovino’s command.

One down.