Supporting Impeachment of DHS Secretary Noem
Dear Friend,
I am increasingly concerned about the immigration raids and the lawlessness of ICE agents we’re seeing in Minneapolis, Memphis and across the country and this week signed onto legislation to impeach the unqualified Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. I also spoke at the ribbon cutting this morning for Northside Square, testified about Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District’s transportation and infrastructure needs, announced a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to Tipton County, condemned the suppression of protests in Iran, advocated for placing Fort Pillow into the National Park system, and offered a Friday Flashback, a health tip and a Bill Day cartoon. Keep reading and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens.
Supporting Impeachment of DHS Secretary Noem
Welcoming Northside Square Development
Stating Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities
Announcing FEMA Funding for Tipton County
Condemning Iran’s Suppression of Protesters
Advocating Study of Fort Pillow as a National Park
Holding a Free Tax-Preparation Clinic January 31
Supporting Impeachment of DHS Secretary Noem
The killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis is inexcusable and what’s happening with the immigration crackdown in Memphis is similarly troubling. I signed onto a resolution that was introduced this week impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for the high crimes and misdemeanors of obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust, and self-dealing. I also called for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency because Americans are appalled at the lawlessness of the masked agents smashing car windows, tackling home improvement retailers’ employees and assaulting legal immigrants when they show up for court hearings. ICE isn’t going after “the worst of the worst.” Ironically, ICE agents may be the worst of the worst based on reports of their training and oversight. They’re attacking our hard-working neighbors, and it has to stop. See my remarks in a House Judiciary Committee markup here.
Welcoming Northside Square Development
This morning, I spoke at the ribbon-cutting for Northside Square, an ambitious redevelopment of the former Northside High School for which I secured $1 million in community project funding. Turning the vacant school into a community hub with affordable housing and small businesses will invigorate the entire Klondike-Smokey City-Northside neighborhood. This $82 million project was the dream of Roshun Austin and Archie Willis, who with Mayor Paul Young, also spoke at the well-attended event. There must be this kind of economic development in all sections of the city. I commend those behind Northside Square.
Stating Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities
On Wednesday, I presented my priorities for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District and national safety programs I have long championed to my former Transportation and Infrastructure Committee colleagues at a “Member’s Day” hearing on a surface transportation reauthorization bill. I pointed out that the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that I voted for has already secured more than half a billion dollars for the 9th District, including nearly $400 million to replace the Interstate 55 bridge at Memphis, the largest single federal infrastructure investment in the state’s history. See my release and testimony here.
Announcing FEMA Funding for Tipton County
On Tuesday, I announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide $146,880 to Tipton County for debris cleanup after the devastating April 2025 tornadoes. See details in my release here.
Condemning Iran’s Suppression of Protesters
As the co-chairmen of the Congressional Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, Congressman Tom McClintock of California and I released a statement Monday condemning the brutal suppression and killing of protesters. See that statement here.
Advocating Study of Fort Pillow as a National Park
I met with Anthony Bush and Yulanda Burgess, descendants of Fort Pillow massacre victims, after Wedneday’s hearing.
On Wednesday, I addressed the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands, in support of passing my Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park Study Act. The bill authorizes a study to determine the suitability of the existing state park in Lauderdale County becoming a unit of the National Park system. Fort Pillow is the site of a terrible Civil War massacre, in which some 300 Union soldiers, most of whom where African Americans, were killed, that deserves national distinction. The Joint Select Committee on the Conduct of the War, the congressional body that investigated after the war ended, called the massacre “a scene of cruelty and murder without parallel in civilized warfare.” The Rebels were led by the notorious Confederate General and founder of the Ku Klux Klan Nathan Bedford Forrest. Several descendants of victims of the 1864 Civil War battle attended the hearing in support of the bill. See my release and testimony here.
Holding a Free Tax-Preparation Clinic January 31
I will be hosting a free tax-preparation clinic with representatives of the United Way of the Mid-South on January 31 at Southland Mall at Elvis Presley Boulevard and East Shelby Drive. Get your taxes done right and for free with tax preparation experts. Click on this link to RSVP.
This is me with Irvin Salky, Civil Rights icon Julian Bond, jazz pianist and Arsenio Hall Show band director Michael Wolff and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Warren Zevon at the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis fight at the Pyramid on June 8, 2002.
The Shelby County Health Department has issued an alert to people who might have been exposed to the measles by a contagious traveler at Memphis International Airport. The exposure would have occurred late on Tuesday, December 30 and early on Wednesday, December 31, or on Saturday, January 3, between noon and 6:30 p.m. The department warns that it can take up to 21 days after exposure to experience symptoms, which include a cough, watery eyes and a reddish rash. See details here.
Also, in light of multiple ICE shootings in the past week, including the unjustified killing of Ms. Good in Minnesota, it’s important to know your rights when protesting to protect yourself and others around you.
- You don’t need a permit to protest in streets or on sidewalks if you’re not obstructing traffic or access to buildings.
- You have the right to photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police.
- If stopped by law enforcement, you have the right to remain silent or to tell them that you will only answer questions after consulting with a lawyer. Ask if you are free to go. If you are, calmly walk away.
- If arrested, ask for a lawyer immediately. Don’t sign, say or agree to anything without a lawyer present.
A Bill Day Cartoon - "Trigger Happy ICE"
“What's clear to me is Kristi Noem is deeply unqualified, deeply unserious and deeply dangerous. She's a complete and total disgrace. She should never have been confirmed by the Senate in terms of holding this position. She lied to the American people, as she’s been doing repeatedly, but in this instance, slandered a 37-year-old American citizen whose life was taken without justification by an ICE agent who showed depraved indifference to human life. That agent should be criminally investigated to the full extent of the law. And simultaneously, in Congress, we need to decisively respond, and we will.” – Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries on MS NOW
I wish everyone a productive and reflective Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday.
As always, I remain…
Sincerely,
|
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress