In her own words
Why this is personal for me
I double-majored in Latin American Studies and Criminal Justice at Penn State, because I wanted to bust drug lords for a living. When my family was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia during the Pablo Escobar era, I saw first-hand how America's drug demand resulted in the deaths of innocent people. My studies showed me that it was our own government, through the CIA, that removed democratically elected leaders and replaced them with pro-U.S. leaders who operated with impunity. The resulting destabilization of those regions has led to many of the desperate attempts Latin Americans make to reach the shiny beacon of hope that still is America. If we want to truly address the immigration issues we're experiencing, it starts with us taking responsibility for the part we played in creating the situation.
Everyone wants strong borders, regardless of political affiliation. Everyone wants illicit drugs out of our country. And that starts with addressing our issues with addiction. I am for holding anyone accountable who wants to bring illicit drugs into our country or do harm to America.
I spent my career working alongside federal agencies including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations as a Task Force Officer, and I believe immigration should occur legally. At the same time, I will not let anyone paint most immigrants as criminals: many are families seeking safety or opportunity, and they should be treated as human beings.
The problem
Secure borders — and a system that's badly broken
The current immigration system is failing everyone:
On the record · June 29, 2026
On the Bozeman ICE raids
I was made aware of ICE raids in Bozeman today. I condemn the violation of due process for all individuals. I am calling on law enforcement to release anyone detained who has a lawful reason for being here.
Our nation needs and deserves secure borders. And no one is above the law. But national security has always been about letting people from all walks of life come here freely while ensuring those who wish us harm are kept out and held accountable. This administration's use of ICE is clearly intended to terrorize a specific segment of the population — even taking custody of people with a legal right to be here in order to meet quotas set by the administration.
America has always been a beacon of light, hope, and opportunity. And Montana has never been a state that tolerated impunity. The violations of due process don't just threaten one segment of the population — they threaten your right to due process. Because if they can grab and hold anyone, they can grab and hold you. I have personally seen the effects of justice systems that operate with impunity, and they always lead to human rights abuses.
Let's learn from the lessons of Froid, where a town that votes Republican every time stood up for a neighbor Border Patrol held for more than 100 days, and drove seven hours before dawn to sit in his eight-minute hearing. Be neighbors who support law and order, and neighbors who advocate for those who build up Montana's communities. If you believe in strong borders as well as strong Montana communities that believe in our Constitution, let's work toward that together.
The hard question
Shut ICE down and build its replacement from scratch
ICE has only existed since 2003. After 9/11, Congress abolished the old immigration agency — the INS, created in 1933 — and split its work among three new agencies (ICE, CBP, and USCIS) inside a brand-new Department of Homeland Security that folded 22 agencies together. Abolishing an immigration agency and rebuilding it is not a radical act. It is something this country did on purpose, within living memory, and called good government.
The structure never got finished. The Government Accountability Office put DHS integration on its high-risk list in 2003, the year it was created, and it is still on that list 23 years later. In 2018, 19 of ICE's own senior criminal investigators wrote to the Secretary of Homeland Security asking her to split ICE in two, because bolting immigration raids onto criminal investigations was wrecking their ability to go after traffickers and cartels. That's the case, made by career federal agents, before the current abuses: the structure itself is broken, independent of who is president.
I spent 21 years in uniform and a career in federal law enforcement, and I know what a broken unit looks like. ICE is broken, and it did not start with this administration. You do not fix a unit this broken by sketching a new org chart on a napkin. You shut it down, you account for exactly how it got this bad, and you build its replacement from scratch, into whatever organizational solution an honest, independent review recommends. The principle underneath it all is simple: any solution starts from basic respect and the humanity of every person, and we stop punishing immigrants for a broken system they never made.
The plan
Where she stands
Federal levers — what a Senator can do
- DHS appropriations — condition funding, set detention levels, and fund independent inspections.
- Oversight — subpoenas, facility inspections, and Inspector General referrals.
- Confirmations — the DHS Secretary, agency leadership, and Inspectors General.
- Structural authority — Congress created ICE by statute and can restructure it by statute.
- Root causes — addiction treatment at home, and a smarter anti-cartel and foreign-policy posture abroad.
The evidence
The facts
~90% · ~86%
About 90% of seized fentanyl comes through legal ports of entry, and about 86% of traffickers are U.S. citizens. Migrant families are not the ones bringing it.
CBP · U.S. Sentencing Commission
7 in 10
About 7 in 10 people in ICE detention have no criminal conviction, and only about 5% have a violent one.
TRAC, Syracuse University · Cato Institute
506
Federal immigration agents detained at least 506 U.S. citizens between January 2025 and September 2026, including at least 70 children, about 20 of them handcuffed or zip-tied. More than 300 were accused of assaulting or obstructing agents, and fewer than half of those were ever charged in federal court.
ProPublica, October 2026
13 of 17
Since 2025 the administration has moved to end Temporary Protected Status for 13 of the 17 countries that had it, about 1 million of the 1.3 million people it protected. Six of the countries already cut off (Afghanistan, Burma, Haiti, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen) carry the State Department's highest warning: Level 4, Do Not Travel.
Pew Research Center, August 2026 · U.S. State Department travel advisories
390,000
TPS isn't a path to citizenship: in USCIS's own words, it "does not lead to lawful permanent resident status." People who fled war and disaster can work here legally, marry Americans and raise children here, and many still can't get a green card through that marriage without first leaving the country. TPS holders live with about 390,000 U.S.-citizen children.
USCIS · Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021) · FWD.us, April 2026
Level 4
Haiti is one example. In July 2026 the administration ended Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitians while the State Department's own advisory for Haiti sat at Level 4: Do Not Travel, for any reason. Ohio's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, called it a "job killer" and urged the President to reconsider.
USCIS, July 2026 · U.S. State Department travel advisory · PBS NewsHour
$10,000+
Doing it the legal way can cost $10,000 or more before you ever reach the front of the line.
USCIS · Manifest Law
12.8 million
12.8 million applications are pending at USCIS, and in some categories those who followed every rule wait 20 years or more for a green card.
USCIS, March 2026 · State Dept. Visa Bulletin
23 years
DHS management has been on the GAO high-risk list since the department was created in 2003. ICE was broken long before this administration, and both parties let it rot.
U.S. Government Accountability Office High-Risk List
The principle underneath it all
Any solution starts from basic respect and the humanity of every person — and we stop punishing immigrants for a broken system they never made. Strong borders and a Constitution that protects everyone are not opposites.
Secure the border, go after the real threats, fix the legal system, and never trade away due process. Because the day they can grab and hold anyone is the day they can grab and hold you.
Sources: ICE, CBP, and USCIS created March 2003 from the INS and the U.S. Customs Service; DHS consolidated 22 agencies after 9/11 (Homeland Security Act of 2002; DHS and USCIS history). GAO flagged DHS integration as high-risk in 2003 and it remains on the list 23 years later (U.S. GAO High-Risk List). 2018 letter from 19 HSI Special Agents in Charge to the Secretary of Homeland Security asking to split ICE (Washington Post; Texas Observer; AILA, June 2018). Fentanyl, detention, cost, and backlog figures: CBP; U.S. Sentencing Commission; TRAC, Syracuse University; Cato Institute; USCIS; U.S. State Department Visa Bulletin. Haiti TPS: USCIS, "Update on Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti," July 29, 2026; U.S. State Department travel advisory for Haiti (Level 4: Do Not Travel); PBS NewsHour, 2026 (Gov. Mike DeWine). TPS terminations: Pew Research Center, "Second Trump administration has ended Temporary Protected Status for most immigrants who had it," Aug. 12, 2026; advisory levels from the U.S. State Department travel advisory feed (Afghanistan, Burma, Haiti, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen at Level 4). TPS and permanent residence: USCIS, "Temporary Protected Status"; Sanchez v. Mayorkas, 593 U.S. 409 (2021); FWD.us, "Temporary Protected Status protects families while also boosting the U.S. economy," April 21, 2026 (U.S.-citizen children, data as of early 2025).