Ryan Mackenzie defends Iran strikes, calls for ICE reforms at 3rd Lehigh Valley telephone town hall

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie took questions Wednesday evening from Lehigh Valley and Pocono residents on topics ranging from U.S. military strikes in Iran to housing affordability and congressional stock trading. The telephone town hall drew 12,000 participants across Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, according to his office.

The hourlong event, held March 4, was Mackenzie’s third telephone town hall since taking office in January 2025.

His office has favored the format over in-person events — a choice that has drawn criticism from Democratic opponents and constituent groups who have called on him to hold open public forums.

His only in-person town hall inside the district was a taping at WFMZ-TV in September 2025 with an invited audience of about a dozen business and community leaders.

Democratic challengers have characterized the telephone format as a way to avoid unscripted exchanges with constituents.

The event came as Congress debated the limits of presidential war powers following a weekend of U.S. military operations against Iranian targets.

Iran strikes and war powers vote

Mackenzie told callers he planned to vote against a war powers resolution in the House on Thursday that would curtail the president’s authority to continue military operations in Iran.

“Once that first step was taken by our military to move into Iran, if we do not take out their capabilities … they would still have their capabilities to actually target our troops who are in the region,” Mackenzie said.

He said members of Congress received a classified briefing Tuesday from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the legal justification for the strikes.

A similar resolution, sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine and Rand Paul, failed in the Senate earlier that day, 47-53, with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman the only Democrat to vote against it.

Critics of the strikes have argued that the president acted without congressional authorization and has not articulated a clear strategy or timeline for ending the conflict.

Mackenzie said the 1973 War Powers Resolution gives a president 60 days to conduct military operations before requiring congressional approval, and that lawmakers have a responsibility to act if the conflict approaches that threshold.

Funding secured for local projects

The congressman highlighted more than $12 million in community project funding secured in the most recent federal appropriations bill for projects across the district.

Among the awards: more than $1.6 million for a new firehouse in Alburtis, more than $2 million for Carbon County for sheriff’s office equipment and a countywide P25 emergency radio system upgrade, and $2 million for Lehigh Valley International Airport to fund escalators and elevators connecting a planned new parking deck to the terminal.

He also cited $47 million in programmatic funding for continued production of heavy-duty military trucks at Mack Defense in Allentown, which supports 50 high-skill local jobs. The facility has produced more than 500 of the M917A3 heavy dump trucks for the U.S. Army.

Mackenzie noted the community project fund application window for this year is open through 5 p.m. Monday, March 9, with details available at mackenzie.house.gov.

Casework and constituent services

Since taking office in January 2025, Mackenzie’s office has resolved more than 6,000 constituent cases and returned $11.6 million to residents dealing with issues involving federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the IRS, he said.

The district maintains four offices — in Northampton County, Carbon County, downtown Allentown, and on Peter Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township — offering both English and Spanish-language services.

David, a veteran calling from Saylorsburg, praised Mackenzie’s staff for helping resolve a disability benefits claim.

ICE reform and immigration enforcement

A caller asked about incidents involving U.S. citizens being killed or detained by federal immigration agents, referencing recent events in Minnesota.

The caller appeared to be referring to the January shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis that sparked national protests and multiple investigations.

Mackenzie, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he questioned the ICE director during a recent committee hearing on those cases and called for reforms, including mandatory body cameras for ICE officers, de-escalation training and some form of officer identification, such as a badge number.

A ProPublica investigation published in late 2025 documented more than 170 cases of U.S. citizens detained by federal immigration agents nationwide.

A caller later pressed Mackenzie on immigration court capacity, noting the system holds close to 4 million pending cases nationwide with fewer than 700 judges.

Mackenzie acknowledged the backlog as a problem that needs to be addressed — though the Trump administration fired nearly 100 immigration judges in 2025, according to NPR, leaving some courts without any sitting judges.

Mackenzie also criticized Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel’s decision to remove Homeland Security Investigations agents from the county, arguing HSI plays a critical role in combating human trafficking and drug cartels in the region, given its proximity to major highways and New York City.

The eviction was initiated by Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley, who found HSI owed the county more than $115,000 in unpaid rent and called on Siegel to terminate the lease. Pinsley is among the Democrats seeking to unseat Mackenzie in 2026.

Stock trading, housing, scams and voter ID

On congressional stock trading, Mackenzie said he does not hold individual stocks and has co-sponsored three separate bills that would restrict members of Congress from buying and selling individual securities.

On housing, he pointed to an expansion of federal low-income housing tax credits passed last year and said two broader housing bills — one from the House and one from the Senate — are currently being reconciled between the chambers.

On elder fraud, he cited his co-sponsorship of legislation targeting veteran scams, artificial intelligence-enabled “deepfake” fraud and financial exploitation of seniors. He encouraged residents to sign up for his office’s “Scam Stoppers” newsletter alerts.

On the SAVE Act, which passed the House and includes voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, Mackenzie said he voted for the bill and supports it, but acknowledged it faces a steep path in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for passage.

Residents seeking constituent assistance can contact Mackenzie’s district offices at 484-781-6000 or visit mackenzie.house.gov.