Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Olivia Porcaro 202-225-6165

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom Cole’s (OK-04) legislation, H.R. 7744, which is second time legislation to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and protect the nation’s border, passed the House of Representatives. After the legislation passed, Congressman Cole released the following statement:

“The Constitution places the safety and security of the American people at the center of the federal government’s responsibilities. It is a duty I don’t take lightly,” said Congressman Cole. “Amidst rising global tensions and natural disaster possibilities, jeopardizing security operations and emergency preparedness is the last thing anyone should be doing. Yet, Democrats have kept the Department of Homeland Security shuttered for weeks – and again voted to keep it that way.”

“They are actively choosing to deny resources to the very people responsible for protecting the American homeland. Cybersecurity operations are at limited capacity, as adversaries like Iran, Russia, and China seek to exploit infrastructure vulnerabilities. Training for first responders has been canceled. FEMA grants – utilized by state and local entities to ensure safety and combat terrorism – can’t be accessed. TSA officers are being forced to work through the shutdown while missing paychecks. Coast Guard men and women, including those in harm’s way in Bahrain, are completing missions without full resources behind them. Even security preparations to keep attendees safe at the America 250 celebrations, the FIFA World Cup, the LA2028 Olympics, and more face disruptions. These impacts are not political or hyperbole. They are the direct cost of Democrats’ decision to play politics with the safeguards of this country,” said Congressman Cole.

“My priority is serving and protecting Oklahomans and all Americans, which is why I voted again today to pass full-year DHS funding. No selective resourcing – full operational funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the personnel who stand watch over this nation every day. Despite bipartisan majorities in both chambers, a small minority of Democrats continue to hold this funding hostage. However, let me be clear: shielding the homeland should never be treated as a political bargaining chip,” said Congressman Cole.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), alongside Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons demanding a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian asylum-seeker and Massachusetts community member who died in ICE custody on March 2. ICE’s failure to provide timely medical care to Mr. Damas appears to have contributed to his worsening medical condition and tragic death. Mr. Damas is, at least, the tenth person to die in ICE’s custody this year. The lawmakers also urge DHS to adhere to its own standards and provide proper medical treatment to detainees in its care.

In February 2026, Mr. Damas first informed staff at the Florence detention center in Arizona that he was suffering from a bad toothache. Facility staff supplied him with over-the-counter medications but reportedly denied him dental treatment. On February 19, Mr. Damas informed his family that his condition had significantly worsened and that he would be taken to a hospital. The following day, the Damas family learned from staff at the HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center that Mr. Damas was suffering from pneumonia, had been placed on life support in the Intensive Care Unit, and remained in critical condition. The hospital declined to release Mr. Damas’s medical information and redirected his brother, Presly Nelson, to ICE, which provided him no information.

On February 23, Mr. Nelson contacted the ICE facility again and was informed that his brother had been moved back into detention but was given no information on his medical condition. Senator Markey reached out to ICE that same day, requesting an update on Mr. Damas’s health status and physical location. ICE did not provide satisfactory answers. Several days later, the Damas family learned that Mr. Damas was hospitalized again and was scheduled for surgery on February 26. On March 2, Mr. Damas died.

In their letter, the lawmakers urge, “Despite a dramatic increase in the number of detainees held by ICE, the Administration has failed to properly care for these individuals. Reports of improper and untimely medical treatment abound. DHS is also repeatedly violating its own guidance governing the medical care of detainees. ICE’s national detention standards mandate that ‘[a]ll detainees shall have access to appropriate medical, dental, and mental health care, including emergency services.’ The standards also specify that ‘[e]mergency dental treatment shall be provided for immediate relief of pain, trauma, and acute oral infection.’ As Mr. Damas’s death tragically highlights, individuals in ICE’s custody are not treated in accordance with the standards governing ICE’s conduct.”

The lawmakers request answers to questions that include:

• Did Mr. Damas submit any verbal or written requests for medical attention or any complaints about his physical condition during his time in detention?
• What was Mr. Damas’s medical history at the time of his intake into ICE custody?
• When did any staff at the Florence detention center first become aware of Mr. Damas’s complaint regarding his tooth pain?
• When did medical staff become aware that Mr. Damas’s condition required emergency treatment or admittance to a hospital?
• Who was the medical provider contracted to deliver healthcare services at the outside facility or hospital where Mr. Damas was treated at the time of his death?
• What was the official cause of Mr. Damas’s death? Was an independent autopsy conducted or made available to the family?
• Was Mr. Damas’s family informed by any staff at the Florence detention center of his deteriorating health condition prior to his death?
• Has ICE initiated a formal investigation into the death of Mr. Damas?

Text of the letter can be accessed here.

Congresswoman Pressley serves as Co-Chair for the House Haiti Caucus and represents one of the largest Haitian diaspora communities in the country. She has stood in vigorous defense for Haitian communities and all immigrant neighbors amid Trump and ICE’s attacks against immigrant communities.

Congresswoman Pressley has been a leading voice in Congress pushing back against Trump’s threats to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.

Rep. Pressley leads a discharge petition that could compel the House vote on a bill to require the Trump Administration to extend TPS for Haiti for three years. The discharge petition continues to gain support and will need 218 signatures in the House to move forward.

In January 2026, Congresswoman Pressley, alongside Senator Markey, held a field hearing on the importance of extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. She documented this testimony in the legislative record. Rep. Pressley also organized a press conference in D.C. in January to sound the alarm on the harm of terminating TPS for Haiti on seniors and the U.S. care economy.

In February 2026, Rep. Pressley applauded a federal judge’s ruling to temporarily block Trump’s move to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. Ending TPS for Haitians would leave over 350,000 Haitian nationals at risk of deportation, many of whom reside in the Massachusetts 7th congressional district.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ted Lieu (33 District of California)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.Con.Res. 38 – Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran .

“Our brave service members are executing dangerous missions against the Iranian regime. At least six U.S. servicemembers have been killed and many more seriously wounded. My prayers are for the families of the servicemembers who died, for the servicemembers who were seriously wounded, and for all servicemembers who are in harms’ way. The Administration must ensure our servicemembers, and all Americans, are safe from retaliatory attacks by the Iranian regime and its proxies. 

“The Iranian regime is a murderous regime that brutally kills its own people, funds terrorist organizations, and repeatedly states its goal is to destroy the United States and Israel. The Iranian regime can never get nuclear weapons. A world with fewer nuclear weapons is also a safer one for everyone. The autocratic and theocratic Iranian regime—if it had nuclear weapons—could launch those weapons of mass destruction at U.S. military bases, other U.S. interests, and allied countries such as Israel. Preventing the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons has been a longstanding, bipartisan goal. 

“While I strongly support the goal of preventing the Iranian regime from ever getting nuclear weapons, I believe massive and sustained military strikes ordered by the President on Iran needed congressional authorization. I served on active duty in the United States Air Force. I also taught the Law of Armed Conflict. From my first term in Congress until the present, I have consistently believed the Constitution means what it says: only Congress has the power to declare war. I publicly stated at the time that President Obama needed congressional authorization before conducting even limited strikes against Syria. My position that only Congress has the power to declare war has remained the same regardless of which party the President happens to belong to.

“To the extent the Administration entered this war for goals beyond eliminating Iran’s nuclear capabilities, then the actions by the President are even more unconstitutional because any self-defense argument becomes even more attenuated. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead. The world is a better place without the evil that he personified. We all yearn for a free and democratic Iran. The Administration, however, has alternated between suggesting this war is about regime change, and then suggesting it is not about regime change. 

“The Administration made no attempt to make the case for war to the American people and Congress prior to entering this war with Iran and did not seek an Authorization for the Use of Military Force. War is deadly, expensive and can have unintended effects. It is not something you announce on Truth Social and manage while hosting parties at Mar-A-Lago. The President disrespected the American people and violated the Constitution by making no meaningful effort to explain the rationale for this war with Iran or seek congressional authorization. 

“Even now, the Administration has failed to address meaningfully many basic questions, such as how the Administration intends to protect Americans and our service members from Iran’s retaliatory attacks, what the Administration’s exit strategy is, and what are the actual goals of this war with Iran.

“The Framers put in the greatest power they knew at the time—the power to declare war—under the sole authority of Congress. One reason is because forcing the President to make the case to the American people and Congress makes America safer and our war planning better. Had the President followed the Constitution and come before Congress, then Congress and the American people could have asked:

1. How does the Administration plan to protect Americans in danger in the Middle East? What are the evacuation plans?
2. How does the Administration plan to protect the multiple soft targets within range of Iran’s missiles and drones, such as our embassies and consulates?
3. How does the Administration plan to protect our military bases from being hit?
4. How does the Administration plan to have enough munitions to conduct this war without putting at risk other U.S. interests around the world?
5. How does the Administration plan to ensure the future regime in Iran is not the same as or even worse than the current regime?
6. What is the definition of victory?

“Based on the above reasons, I honored my oath to the Constitution and voted YES on the War Powers Resolution. For the Administration to continue this war, it must answer basic questions to the American people and Congress, make the case for war, and submit an Authorization for the Use of Military Force for congressional approval.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Earl L Buddy Carter (GA-01)

Headline: Carter statement on vote in support of our troops against war powers resolution

Carter statement on vote in support of our troops against war powers resolution

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on the firing of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: 

Kristi Noem’s firing was long overdue. Her tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security will be remembered as one of the most corrupt, reckless, and disgraceful chapters in the department’s history.

Under Noem’s leadership, DHS abandoned its core mission of protecting the American people and instead became a political weapon. Families were torn apart. Communities—including in Maine—were terrorized by violent enforcement tactics. Lawful residents and American citizens were swept up in operations that too often operated outside the bounds of accountability and basic decency. At the same time, Noem treated the department as a vehicle for her own self-promotion and political ambitions, relying on cynical PR stunts and constant misinformation to obscure the damage being done.

The consequences of that leadership have been devastating. Americans were killed in the streets while DHS leadership deflected responsibility and doubled down on cruelty. Entire communities were traumatized by policies designed to intimidate rather than protect. The bloodshed and chaos that occurred under her watch demands far more than a quiet exit from office.

Whoever is in charge of DHS next—whether it’s Senator Markwayne Mullin or someone else—will inherit an agency in urgent need of reform. Nowhere is that clearer than at ICE, which has been empowered and emboldened by the staggering $170 billion it received through the Big Ugly Bill. That funding is already being used to expand mass surveillance, ramp up aggressive enforcement operations, and deploy poorly trained, unaccountable agents into communities across the country.

Kristi Noem needed to go. But let’s not forget the real architect behind the Administration’s cruel and dangerous immigration policy: Stephen Miller. He needs to be fired next.

This action does not move the needle, for me, on funding DHS. We must confront the abuses that occurred under Noem, demand transparency from this administration, and pursue reforms that ensure our immigration system respects the law, protects civil liberties, and treats people with basic humanity. No department entrusted with this much power can be allowed to operate without meaningful accountability ever again.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on her vote for the bipartisan War Powers Resolution, which would have restricted the Trump Administration from taking further military action in Iran without Congressional approval:

Let me be clear: I am against any war launched without the approval of Congress. That the president chose to attack Iran—a country four times the size of Iraq, with 90 million people, a massive standing army, and formidable weaponry—without so much as an Oval Office address, is beyond dangerous.  

Only Congress has the authority to declare war. The bipartisan War Powers Resolution would have enforced that Constitutional power and required the president to seek our approval for any further action in Iran. Instead, Congress has basically given him a free pass and set a terrible precedent for future war powers disputes.

The Administration has not provided Congress or the American people with a coherent rationale for their strikes, let alone a detailed strategy or timeline. In the days since the initial, unsanctioned strikes, the president and his entirely unqualified Cabinet have only presented bumbling arguments, contradictory messages, and ever-shifting narratives. Their incompetence is dangerous, incredibly costly, and will yield catastrophic consequences for our country, for our troops, for the people of Iran, and for the world. Given the incalculable stakes and immense cost—an estimated $1 billion a day—of such an endeavor, I cannot and will not support this war.

Some are suggesting that, while the President should have consulted Congress before launching these attacks, now that the war has begun, there’s no way to pull back. I firmly reject this sentiment. Not only is it categorically false; it sets a dangerous precedent—allowing future presidents to start any war they wish, with the understanding that they can simply seek approval after the fact.

We’re already seeing the human toll of this disastrous and unjustified rush to war. Six U.S. servicemembers have lost their lives. More than 900 people, including civilians and school children, have been killed. Violence has erupted across the Middle East. I fear things will only get worse in the days and weeks ahead, especially if this Administration is allowed to continue conducting this operation without a cogent strategy or proper oversight.

Make no mistake: The people of Iran deserve better leadership than the brutal, oppressive regime currently in power. But history has shown us, repeatedly, that regime change without a concrete plan or broad international support almost always backfires—emboldening extremists and hardliners, sowing chaos and violence, and creating far more suffering than it ever prevents. Asking our troops to fight and die for a cause this ill-conceived, this poorly planned, and this unpopular is a betrayal of their service, and could potentially put thousands of them in harm’s way.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative James E (Jim) Clyburn (6th District of South Carolina)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following statement via X on his vote for the Iran War Powers Resolution:

“I voted for the Iran war powers resolution because I believe the Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress to avoid precisely this scenario: a misguided president putting American lives at risk in a military conflict without a clear national security justification and without a coherent plan to achieve a successful outcome.

“The American people want us to focus on making their lives better, not on the constantly shifting, ill-defined objectives that have been put forth by Trump and his advisers as the supposed goals of this war of choice.

“It is highly regrettable that the president and the vast majority of Republicans in Congress are acting contrary to the Constitution and to the will of the American people.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)