Indian American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10) has introduced the Watching Arrest and Transfer Criminal Histories in ICE (WATCH ICE) Act to enhance transparency and accountability within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The legislation would require ICE to publicly report its enforcement actions, including arrests, detentions, and deportations.

The introduction of the Act follows Rep. Subramanyam’s oversight visit this week to ICE’s Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia.

Under the WATCH ICE Act, ICE would be mandated to release quarterly reports detailing:

• The total number of individuals arrested, detained, held in custody, and deported in the previous quarter.
• The number of those individuals with criminal convictions under state or federal law, along with the nature of any potential threat they pose.

According to an official statement from Rep. Subramanyam’s office on August 21, the reporting requirement will ensure that ICE’s actions are consistent with its stated mission of prioritizing public safety.

The statement highlighted that the legislation responds to evidence showing ICE increasingly targets non-criminal individuals and families, including law-abiding immigrants in courthouses, rather than focusing on violent offenders as promised by the Trump administration. At the Caroline Detention Facility, 78% of the average daily population have no criminal convictions, and the facility is operating at 80% capacity—the highest level in five years.

“My visit to Caroline Detention Facility was to conduct constitutional oversight of the facility. President Trump ran on prioritizing getting violent criminals off our streets, yet what we have seen has been the intimidation of law-abiding immigrants, some of whom have been here legally for decades,” Rep. Subramanyam said. “My WATCH ICE Act will bring accountability and clarity by demanding that ICE report on who exactly they are arresting and deporting.”

He added, “I also want to ensure that we protect the rights and civil liberties of all Americans, which is why I also championed legislation to require ICE agents to wear identification and be unmasked, particularly when apprehending individuals.” Rep. Subramanyam noted that several lawful permanent residents and citizens have expressed deep concerns about these practices, emphasizing that they deserve to feel safe.

The Congressman argued that, despite claims of targeting violent non-citizen criminals, federal statistics reveal a different reality. Less than half of those held in ICE detention as recently as June had a criminal record.

“Across the country, arrests of non-criminal individuals have surged. In Virginia, over 2,500 immigrants have been arrested by ICE and partnering local and state law enforcement agencies. However, 60 per cent of those arrests have been of individuals with no prior criminal record,” the statement added.

ICE’s enforcement actions at courthouses nationwide—including in Sterling and Manassas within Virginia’s 10th Congressional District—are particularly concerning, the statement pointed out. By arresting individuals attending hearings, ICE is forcing law-abiding immigrants to make an impossible choice: appear in court at the risk of detention or deportation, or skip their hearings and forfeit their legal efforts to remain in the United States.

“These opaque and punitive measures do not enhance public safety; rather, they target immigrants who are following our laws and attempting to achieve legal status in the right way, merely to inflate this administration’s immigration enforcement numbers and score political points,” the statement said. 

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