When people ask me how I’m doing, I find myself saying the same thing.

“I’m great. Except for the world burning down around me.”

From talking to people across our community, I know I’m not alone.

The latest incendiary crisis coming out of Washington involves Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Under Donald Trump, ICE has drifted far from its original purpose and into something far more dangerous. The agency has been politicized, poorly trained, and stripped of basic ethical and legal guardrails. It has been remade in the president’s own image to serve an extremist political agenda rather than the public interest, with less oversight and less accountability.

This should concern every American.

Because this is how tragedies happen. The killing of Renée Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen, by an ICE agent during a federal operation in Minneapolis was shocking, but not surprising. It was not an isolated incident. Across the country, ICE has detained U.S. citizens, confronted peaceful protesters, and carried out aggressive operations that resemble a paramilitary force operating with little transparency or accountability.

As many people already know, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not a police department. ICE enforces civil immigration law, not criminal law like local police do. So it is closer to agencies like the IRS or the EPA, which enforce civil rules, not violent crime. ICE’s authority is meant to be limited to noncitizens, and it does not have the legal authority to arrest or deport U.S. citizens. Yet ICE is increasingly operating in neighborhoods in ways that look and feel like street policing, without the same authority, let alone the training, humanity or accountability we expect from local police departments.

A civil enforcement agency acting like armed police without police-level oversight is not law enforcement. It is lawlessness and unchecked power.

Some may say, “If you’re here legally, you’ll be fine.” In theory, that might sound reasonable. But legal status does not protect people from the mistaken or abusive enforcement we’re seeing with ICE. U.S. citizens and legal residents have been wrongly detained for days or weeks because of mistaken identity, paperwork errors, or profiling. Renée Nicole Good was a U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Videos clearly show that after she was shot, bystanders and even a physician were blocked from providing medical aid while federal agents controlled the scene.

What made Good’s tragic death even more alarming was the federal response that followed. Instead of supporting a full, independent investigation, the Trump White House moved quickly to limit access by local law enforcement and shape the narrative around the shooting. The FBI took exclusive control of the probe and blocked state investigators from accessing evidence, raising serious concerns about transparency.

Those concerns deepened when at least six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned amid controversy over how the Justice Department handled the case, including pressure to investigate Good and her partner rather than pursue a full inquiry into the actions of the ICE agent who killed her.

Polls are clear that aggressive ICE tactics are sowing fear, not safety. Families describe — and countess social media videos show — agents detaining people without explanation and using force in ways that spread anxiety instead of protection. That behavior doesn’t just harm communities targeted by ICE; it also erodes public trust in law enforcement, making policing harder and communities less safe.

When witnesses fear harassment or deportation, crimes go unreported and public safety suffers.

As a practicing nurse, I see the consequences of that fear firsthand. When people are afraid of government authority, they don’t just stop reporting crimes — they delay medical care and avoid institutions meant to help them. I have cared for patients who waited too long to get help because they were afraid of what might happen if they showed up. That fear makes emergencies worse, outcomes poorer, and communities less healthy and less safe.

In response, I recently introduced several pieces of legislation to restore accountability and limit the harm caused by unaccountable ICE activity. One bill, with state Rep. Chris Pielli, would ensure that no Pennsylvania tax dollars are used by local law enforcement to support ICE operations. Another, with Rep. Emily Kinkead, would prohibit ICE arrests in or around commonwealth buildings and courthouses, so people can access essential services and the justice system without fear. A third, with Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, would prevent ICE from conducting operations in our schools.

These efforts build on other bills I am co-sponsoring from other PA House Democrats to require ICE agents to clearly identify themselves, document civil rights violations, protect people from intimidation in court proceedings, and prevent state police and other Pennsylvania resources from being pulled into federal immigration enforcement.

These bills work together to restore basic guardrails by setting clear limits and ensuring no agency operates above the law. They protect communities from unaccountable federal power, keep local resources focused on real public safety, and reinforce that enforcement must serve the public interest, not political agendas. They matter because public safety works best when enforcement is accountable to the people it serves.

At this moment, transparency, clear limits, and real oversight are needed. That is how we begin to put out the fire, make our communities safer, and begin repairing the damage that has been done.

Khan represents Philadelphia’s 194th Legislative District, which includes Chestnut Hill, East Falls, Manayunk, Roxborough and Wissahickon.