Rep. Pramila Jayapal posted on election night that "ICE's cruelty lost" and that "it's time to hold them accountable," as Democrats seized control of the House and set the stage for her to become chair of the Immigration Subcommittee.
The Washington Democrat, currently the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, has spent months describing how she intends to use power if Democrats took control in the midterms.
ICE’s cruelty lost.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 4, 2026
It’s time to hold them accountable.
In a July interview, Jayapal said that when she becomes chair, she plans to "haul all of these people before my committee with subpoenas, demand accountability, and start to actually use every lever in the toolbox to get them out and to demand accountability."
Jayapal has called ICE a "rogue militia" that "should not exist the way it exists" and has said the agency needs to be "completely disbanded."
In remarks to Washington state Democrats, she has discussed bringing forward agents she labeled "corrupt" who had "kidnapped, detained, deported, and killed."
Jayapal has already held a series of shadow hearings titled "Kidnapped and Disappeared," examining detention conditions, third-country removals, and enforcement operations.
During a March shadow hearing focused on children, Jayapal said families "traumatized" by enforcement would require "some form of reparation" and that those who "inflicted this harm need to be prosecuted" and "brought before us."
The congresswoman has also demanded personnel and disciplinary records of federal officers involved in shootings during immigration operations, citing figures of at least 25 people shot and six killed since the start of the administration.
On November 3, the day before the election, she posted that she had been notified of the 62nd death in ICE custody under the current administration and that voters had the power "to stop this cruelty and hold ICE accountable."
I’ve been notified of another death in ICE custody — the 62nd under this administration.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) November 3, 2026
Today, WE have the power to stop this cruelty and hold ICE accountable.
The figures include people who have died from illness, suicide, and other causes.
Jayapal has previously co-sponsored legislation such as the "Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act" aimed at ending private detention and improving comfort while illegal aliens are being detained.
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