(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) issued the following statement regarding reports of President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to conduct raids in cities across the United States this weekend, including Houston:

“Public safety is the first responsibility of government. We must ensure that keeping the public safe is effective and just. The administration’s announcement that it is planning to conduct large-scale raids works against those fundamental goals, instead creating fear and undermining the effective enforcement of the law.

“In the most diverse city in the country, our law enforcement officers work collaboratively across our community through relational policing, and also work with federal government agencies to keep us safe. They have warned us that this announcement makes their job harder, not easier, and that there is real fear throughout our community. Our priority must be public safety, not public fear.

“I will continue to work with my colleagues on long-term solutions to the complex immigration issues we face, but in the short term, I will work to advocate that the Administration listen to the experts who advise us that this approach is harmful, not helpful, to the safety of communities across the country.”