Warner demands ICE reforms, questions Gabbard's role in Georgia FBI raid
Senator says he won't support DHS funding without 'meaningful' changes to immigration enforcement; joins colleagues in formal demands for answers on intelligence chief, surveillance technology
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called for major reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and questioned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at an FBI raid in Georgia during a press briefing Thursday, as Congress faces a partial government shutdown deadline over Department of Homeland Security funding.
Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he would not support additional DHS funding without a reform package addressing what he described as an agency that has “run amok” following recent shootings in Minneapolis that killed two U.S. citizens.
“The American people have seen the images of the killings in Minnesota. They know that ICE is an agency that now has run amok, that it needs guardrails,” Warner said. “Before we fully pass the final funding bills to keep the government open, we’ve got to have some of those guarantees in place.”
Virginia senators seek surveillance probe
In a separate letter Thursday, Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., asked DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to investigate whether the department’s immigration enforcement operations are using surveillance technology in ways that violate the Fourth Amendment.
The senators expressed concern that DHS has used its unprecedented $165 billion allocation from last year’s reconciliation process to amass powerful data collection tools with insufficient oversight. ICE alone received $75 billion — more than the FBI, the senators noted.
The letter details a litany of contracts and procurement activities, including deals with facial recognition company Clearview AI, data analytics firm Palantir, social media monitoring service Penlink and iris-scanning provider Bi2 Technologies. The senators also noted that DHS has “accessed and utilized software that DHS does not have official access to — including Flock License Plate Scanning Software.”
The Flock allegation has particular relevance locally. The Alexandria Police Department uses Flock Safety technology and explicitly prohibits its use for immigration enforcement, according to the department’s publicly posted policy. The policy, updated in October 2025, lists “immigration enforcement” as a prohibited use alongside traffic enforcement, harassment or intimidation and personal use.
Under Virginia law, license plate reader data can only be shared with federal law enforcement agencies “pursuant to a search warrant or court issued subpoena,” according to the Alexandria Police Department’s Directive 10.40. The department retains LPR data for 21 days before it is automatically purged.
The senators’ letter cited an October 2025 VPM report that found Virginia’s surveillance network had been “tapped thousands of times for immigration cases.”
“DHS’ reported disregard for adhering to the law and its proven ambivalence toward observing and upholding constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms of Americans and noncitizens ... leaves us with little confidence that these new and powerful tools are being used responsibly,” the senators wrote.
The letter cites data showing that nearly 72% of the 59,762 individuals ICE arrested in September 2025 had no prior criminal conviction. In Chicago and Washington, D.C., that figure has reached 80%, according to the letter.
Warner and Kaine also documented the human toll of recent enforcement operations: Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot three times in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a VA hospital, was killed by Customs and Border Protection agents. The letter also cited the hospitalization of small children, including a 6-month-old baby, after ICE agents deployed flash bangs and tear gas on a family.
Warner, Himes demand Gabbard testimony
Following the press briefing, Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a formal letter to Gabbard demanding she appear before both intelligence committees to explain her presence at the Wednesday night raid in Georgia.
The FBI executed a search warrant at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operations Center, reportedly related to the 2020 presidential election.
“It is also deeply concerning that you participated in this domestic law enforcement action,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Intelligence Community should be focused on foreign threats and, as you yourself have testified, when those intelligence authorities are turned inwards the results can be devastating for Americans privacy and civil liberties.”
The letter accuses Gabbard of dismantling election security infrastructure over the past year, including the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which was created through bipartisan legislation in 2019. The lawmakers also noted that the attorney general and FBI director have dissolved the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established during Trump’s first term.
During the press briefing, Warner characterized the raid as stemming from President Donald Trump’s “obsession” with his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
“Tulsi Gabbard’s role is to deal with foreign spying, to deal with foreign malign influence,” Warner said. “Unless she’s claiming that there is a foreign influence somehow involved in this investigation — and if there is, she has to notify the intelligence committees, which she has not — the only other reason she’s showing up is to try to find some way to get back in Donald Trump’s good graces.”
Warner noted that Gabbard has been excluded from senior intelligence briefings and has not been briefing the Gang of Eight, the top congressional leaders who receive classified intelligence updates. He said the warrant for the raid was signed by a U.S. attorney in Missouri rather than Georgia, which he called evidence of its “political nature.”
The senator also noted that the head FBI agent in Atlanta has quit or been fired in connection with the raid.
The letter was copied to Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., the chairman of the House intelligence committee, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.
Hanover County rejects ICE facility
Warner pointed to a vote Wednesday night by the Hanover County Board of Supervisors as evidence of bipartisan concern over ICE operations. The board voted 6-1 to oppose a planned ICE facility in the conservative-leaning county.
“If Hanover County is coming at a 6-to-1 vote to say, ‘Hey, we don’t want this with the current ICE practices, protocols, procedures coming into our county,’ that ought to be a message to all of my friends, in particular the Republican members in the Virginia delegation,” Warner said.
The senator said he attempted to call the board chairman Wednesday night and expressed willingness to work with the county to block the facility.
Warner also called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign, saying she would have been fired “in any normal administration” after attempting to mischaracterize Pretti as a “wannabe terrorist.”
Marking one year since Reagan National crash
The briefing began with Warner commemorating the one-year anniversary of the midair collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people when a commercial flight from Wichita collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
Warner, wearing a commemorative pin for Flight 5342, noted that many of the victims were figure skaters who might otherwise be competing at the Winter Olympics in Milan.
Earlier Thursday, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced plans for a permanent memorial to the 67 victims. WJLA The memorial, bearing the names of all 67 individuals, will be placed along the banks of the Potomac River. WJLA
Warner called on the House to pass the ROTOR Act, which has already passed the Senate and would require military aircraft to use ADS-B transponder systems in crowded airspace. The NTSB investigation found the military helicopter did not have its signaling system activated the night of the crash.
“This accident could have been prevented,” Warner said, citing the NTSB report released Tuesday. “We’ve got to make sure it never happens again.”
Warner also renewed his opposition to adding more flight slots at Reagan National, calling it “the nation’s single busiest runway.”
Shutdown negotiations continue
Asked about the path forward on government funding, Warner said he was encouraged that the White House was negotiating with Democratic leadership but added, “I don’t trust the White House.”
“I don’t trust the process of creating a separate bill. If there’s reforms, I think they need to be in the DHS funding bill,” he said.
Among the reforms Democrats are seeking: requiring ICE agents to be clearly identified, wear body cameras, obtain appropriate warrants and end “roving patrols.” Warner also expressed hope that any reform package would prevent ICE from appearing at polling stations during Virginia’s upcoming primary and any potential redistricting referendum.
“Our polling stations should be free from outside interference, including interference from ICE,” he said.
The Alexandria Brief reported earlier today on the planned Potomac River memorial.
