Over the past year, the White House has directed a brutal campaign of violence against American cities: the so-called Mass Deportation Now policy. Federal agents, often wearing masks to hide their identity, have

• Used tear gas and pepper spray against civilians, even children,
• Fired pepper balls at peoples' heads, including members of the clergy praying,
• Assaulted civilians, mayors and members of Congress,
• Kidnapped, blinded and killed civilians,
• Damaged and destroyed their property,
• Denied them medical care in detention,
• Sent them to foreign prisons in direct violation of federal court orders, and
• Used children as bait to detain their parents - and the children themselves!

There are hundreds of pages of court records documenting these violations of the Bill of Rights, thousands of witnesses and hundreds of hours of video evidence of these atrocities.

I celebrate and honor the hundreds of thousands of brave civilians who have turned out in non-violent protests across the nation, and the thousands who have mobilized to defend and protect their neighbors and communities against the siege. The power of the people is working, and we will keep up the pressure. But let's be clear - Mass Deportation Now is still the White House policy. They campaigned on it, and only a veto-proof vote of the Senate and House of Representatives can end it.

It is long past time for Congress to take the necessary steps bring the brutal Mass Deportation Now policy to a swift end, and to document for history how we allowed it to happen. The first step in this process is public hearings in both the House and Senate. Hearings will place the witnesses' stories in the Congressional Record and determine what new laws are needed so that this defiance of the Bill of Rights can never happen again.

When you become Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, or the chair of a House or Senate committee, you no longer answer only to voters in your district or state, but to all Americans. These are the people who set the direction for Congress, so they are the people we must address.

I ask of you only two things:

1. Please share this petition widely.
2. Letters and phone calls to Congress matter much more than social media or email! I ask you to join me in writing or calling to demand televised public hearings about this violent assault on our freedom.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson:
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4000

Senate Majority Leader John Thune:
United States Senate SD-511
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2321

Andrew Garbarino, Chair, House Homeland Security Committee
H2-176 Ford House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 226-8417

Rand Paul, Chair, Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4751

"O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!"

~ Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar"