Measure Alleges President Has Used Federal Immigration Agencies to Terrorize Communities, Violate Civil Liberties, and Advance Personal and Political Goals

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Al Green introduced new articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, charging him with abusing the powers of the presidency by transforming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) into unaccountable paramilitary police forces used to terrorize communities, violate constitutional rights, and advance his personal and political agenda.

The articles of impeachment charge that President Trump has systematically weaponized federal immigration agencies to suppress free speech, carry out unlawful arrests and detentions, evade judicial oversight, violate due process, target political opponents, and undermine the constitutional rights guaranteed by the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments. 

Congressman Green’s filing marks the latest effort to hold President Trump accountable for what constitutional scholars and advocates describe as an escalating pattern of impeachable abuses of power.

“The Constitution does not permit the President to use federal law enforcement as his personal political police force,” said Courtney Hostetler, Legal Director at Free Speech For People. “Impeachment exists precisely for moments like this, when a president turns the government against the people and the Constitution.”

“No president is above the law, and no president may use federal law enforcement as a personal political weapon,” said Suparna Reddy, Senior Counsel at Free Speech For People. “When the executive branch abandons constitutional limits and turns government power against the people, Congress has both the authority and the obligation to respond.”

“The President of the United States has no authority to wield armed federal agents to intimidate communities, suppress constitutional rights, or consolidate political power on American soil,” said Ben Clements, Chairman and Senior Legal Advisor of Free Speech For People. “The Framers anticipated this kind of abuse of executive power. They gave Congress the remedy: impeachment.”

“This is an existential moment for our nation and our democracy. We either have a Constitution, or we don’t,” said John Bonifaz, President and Co-Founder of Free Speech For People. “Donald Trump has already engaged in multiple abuses of power. We call on our elected officials in Congress to carry out the mandate of their oath to protect the Constitution at this critical time by standing up and demanding impeachment proceedings against this lawless president.”

Free Speech For People has documented hundreds of impeachable offenses across 27 separate grounds for impeachment through its nonpartisan Impeach Trump Again campaign, including:

• Engaging in corruption for his own and his close associates’ personal enrichment
• Committing or planning war and humanitarian crimes
• Unconstitutionally usurping Congress’s power to declare war
• Committing treason by levying war against the United States, individual states, and their people
• Calling for the execution of members of Congress
• Abusing the power of his office to unlawfully maintain political power
• Illegally kidnapping, imprisoning, and removing U.S. residents
• Unconstitutionally and systemically violating the First Amendment
• Defying court orders, threatening judges, and unconstitutionally usurping judicial authority
• Abusing investigatory and prosecutorial powers

More than 1.1 million Americans have signed Free Speech For People’s impeachment petition calling on Congress to uphold its constitutional duty and begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

For more information and to read the constitutional case for impeachment, visit ImpeachTrumpAgain.org.

Read Rep. Green’s new articles of impeachment against Trump here.