WASHINGTON — Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) pressed U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on the chilling actions of federal agents in Orange County. In a letter to Secretary Noem, Rep. Correa expressed deep concerns about the Administration’s lack of transparency when rounding up individuals with no criminal record. As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Correa has spent years fulfilling his congressional oversight responsibility to ensure federal agencies are following the law. This letter slammed the Administration for its illegal overreach and demanded immediate transparency.
“President Trump initially promised to go after the worst of the worst in his immigration policy,” Correa wrote. “However the actions of this administration and your DHS show you are not interested in arresting dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists, and drug dealers. Instead you are sending masked individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement to arrest college and high school students, restaurant workers, factory workers, and even American children.”
When Correa learned of DHS activity in Orange County, he immediately returned home from Washington to support his community. Since then, he has continued conducting oversight over ICE facilities, supporting detainees' access to legal counsel, and providing “know your rights” resources to his neighbors. Correa has consistently expressed concern about the lack of due process awarded to detainees and has called on the Administration to provide transparent data about who they are detaining and why.
“The administration refuses to provide accurate details around what criminal record, if any, DHS components use to justify the arrest of an individual,” Correa wrote.
A recent study conducted by the Los Angeles Times found that 69% of individuals detained by ICE had no criminal conviction. In his letter, Correa demanded DHS to provide immediate and accurate information on their immigration enforcement activities including:
- A breakdown of criminal charges and convictions of people detained since January 20, 2025
- Number of deported individuals and their criminal offenses
- How many individuals have proven ties to gangs, foreign terrorist organizations, or criminal enterprises
- DHS arrest policy
- How agents and officers identify themselves when approaching an individual to detain
- Arresting officers’ training
- If arresting officers are federal agents.
Correa will continue pressing the Administration to act in accordance with DHS’ mission statement, “with honor and integrity to safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.”
Led by Rep. Correa, this letter was also signed by Representatives Val Hoyle (D-OR), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-GA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Darren Soto (D-FL), Eleanor Norton (D-DC), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Timothy Kennedy (D-NY), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO).
To read the entire letter click HERE
BACKGROUND: To date, Correa has conducted regular oversight visits to the ICE Field Office in Santa Ana, California. Last month, alongside Reps. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Norma Torres (CA-35), and Luz Rivas (CA-29), Correa was also illegally denied access to the Roybal Federal Building where ICE is reportedly detaining migrant families—including children and pregnant women—under inhumane conditions. This was ahead of the Trump Administration deploying military and National Guard troops to the city without the consent of California’s governor, violating constitutional norms and threatening state sovereignty.
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ABOUT LOU: Congressman Lou Correa is a longtime Orange County resident, with deep local roots. To this day, he lives only three miles from his childhood neighborhood in Anaheim. He is the son of working-class parents whose hard work gave him a chance at success, and has spent his career fighting to protect the American Dream, and ensure anyone can reach the middle class, just as he did. In 2016, Lou was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to continue his work by representing the community he has spent the past 20 years serving, fighting to give everyone access to the same opportunity he had. Congressman Correa is committed to working across party lines to strengthen the middle class and give everyone a shot at the American Dream by investing in education, healthcare, and our fading infrastructure, and has introduced legislation to protect the legal rights of immigrants, care for veterans, and fight against the wasteful spending of taxpayer money.