Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who has represented Washington’s 7th district in the U.S. Congress since 2017, used her social media platform on January 16, 2026, to highlight concerns regarding actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in several U.S. cities.
In a tweet posted at 18:19 UTC, Jayapal quoted Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s testimony about violence linked to ICE activities: “Thus far in 2026, we’ve only had 4 shootings. 2 of them were ICE… It is clear that the practices that ICE is using are unconstitutional. They are not methodical. They are not well-planned out.”
Later that day at 19:03 UTC, Jayapal cited remarks from Kaohly Her, mayor of Saint Paul: “We are ground zero for Trump’s war on America — a war on our democracy, on our freedoms, and our rights as Americans. It is in our backyard today, and it is only a matter of time before it is in yours.”
At 20:23 UTC, Jayapal shared an incident involving two U.S. citizens allegedly detained and interrogated by ICE agents: “Patty, a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE for 9 hours. Her friend Brandon, also a citizen, was interrogated by agents as they attempted to bribe him to give them names of undocumented individuals or protest organizers. This is absolutely outrageous behavior.”
Pramila Jayapal has been serving as the representative for Washington’s 7th District since succeeding Jim McDermott in 2017 and previously held office in the Washington State Senate from 2014 to 2016 (https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/J000298). Born in Chennai in 1965 and currently residing in Seattle, she holds degrees from Georgetown University and Northwestern University.
