At ICE Headquarters and Press Conference, Rep. Summer Lee Reiterates Calls to Abolish ICE and Impeach DHS Secretary Noem 

Photos (Dropbox) | Press Conference (Video) 

 WASHINGTON, D.C.– FEBRUARY 3, 2026 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) joined House Democrats advocates, and stakeholders, outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, D.C., to reiterate her call to fire Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and to abolish ICE. Rep. Lee later joined Rep. Ramirez and her colleagues to uplift their Melt ICE Act and urge House lawmakers to vote against giving ICE additional funding. 

Rep. Lee spoke directly to the continued abuses by ICE and federal leadership, saying: 

“No organization—no agency within our own government—should impose upon our civil rights, impose upon our communities, or operate as a terrorist organization in our own streets. Today, we’re calling on not just progressives, not just the Squad, but every single person of conscience in this country to say that we will not stand for ICE or any other law enforcement agency inhumanely detaining our family members or targeting our children and loved ones. 

“This is not just about your country of origin, your race, or your religion. What we know, what I have learned, especially as a Black woman in America, is that if they come for one of us, they will come for the person next to you. If we allow anyone to trample our civil rights and erode due process, it is only a matter of time before they come for you too.” 

Members of Congress emphasized strong oversight demands and called for an end to unchecked enforcement practices as they stood in solidarity with impacted communities nationwide. 

Photos from the ICE rally can be found here and video footage of the Congresswoman’s remarks at the Melt ICE press conference can be found here. 

Rep. Lee has consistently used her platform and oversight authority to challenge ICE abuses and demand accountability from DHS leadership. 

Most recently, Rep. Lee joined her colleagues in introducing articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, citing a pattern of civil rights violations, obstruction of congressional oversight, and failure to protect due process in ICE enforcement operations. The articles followed months of escalating concerns over DHS leadership and ICE conduct nationwide. 

Rep. Lee also introduced legislation alongside Reps. Delia C. Ramirez and Yvette D. Clarke to end ICE detention altogether and redirect funding toward community-based services, legal support, and humanitarian care. The legislation seeks to dismantle the detention pipeline and move federal resources away from incarceration and toward dignity-centered alternatives. 

As DHS funding negotiations intensified, Rep. Lee joined Pennsylvania House Democrats in urging Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick to oppose DHS appropriations that fail to include meaningful reforms. 

In October 2025, Rep. Lee led oversight efforts demanding answers from DHS after reports revealed ICE’s use of foreign spyware technology capable of covert surveillance. Alongside Reps. Shontel Brown and Yassamin Ansari, she pressed DHS to explain how such tools were deployed and what safeguards, if any, were in place to protect Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights. 

During an attempted oversight visit to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in August 2025, Rep. Lee and a Human Rights First advocate were denied entry despite credible allegations of abuse and the death of a detainee. The denial raised further concerns about transparency within ICE detention facilities and DHS’s resistance to congressional oversight. 

Rep. Lee, alongside Reps. Maxwell Frost and Delia C. Ramirez, introduced the Oversight Access Act. This legislation is designed to protect Members of Congress from violence and retaliation while conducting official oversight duties. The bill responds to increasing concerns about threats and physical assaults faced by lawmakers as they attempt to hold agencies like ICE and DHS accountable and aims to ensure that congressional oversight can proceed safely and without interference. 

Rep. Lee, serving as a Ranking Member, also joined Rep. Robert Garcia in demanding DHS explain ICE’s use of masks and unmarked vehicles during enforcement operations. She warned that these tactics terrorize communities, undermine public trust, and blur the line between lawful enforcement and intimidation. 

Rep. Lee has also publicly condemned ICE raids carried out in Los Angeles under the Trump administration, calling them an abuse of power that ripped families apart and spread fear throughout immigrant communities. She emphasized that enforcement tactics rooted in punishment rather than humanity only deepen harm and instability. 

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.