1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I write to you to express my strong support for your opposition to the Fiscal Year 2026 funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. I urge you to maintain that opposition for as long as this legislation fails to confront the deeply troubling conduct of DHS agencies—specifically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection—whose current enforcement tactics are spreading fear through American communities. What we are witnessing is not measured law enforcement. It is the deployment of heavily armed federal agents into neighborhoods, schools, and public spaces in ways that traumatize both immigrants and U.S. citizens. Children are afraid to attend school. Parents are terrified to take their kids to bus stops. In states such as Minnesota, Maine, and Ohio, aggressive operations on or near school grounds have disrupted classrooms and shattered any sense of safety. Schools and community centers should be sanctuaries for learning and stability—not staging grounds for federal intimidation. Across the country, credible reports describe racial profiling, warrantless stops, unlawful searches, and violent confrontations. These are not abstract policy debates. They are lived experiences that erode civil liberties and destroy trust between communities and the government meant to serve them. In 2026 alone, at least eight people have reportedly died following assaults or detentions involving ICE or CBP. In Minneapolis, two U.S. citizens were fatally wounded by federal agents amid conflicting official narratives, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and oversight. When federal agencies operate with masks, without visible identification, and without body cameras, the public has no meaningful way to ensure the truth prevails. Congress must not reward this conduct with a blank check. If DHS seeks funding, it must accept reform. I urge you to support legislation that will: • Immediately end the sustained, militarized presence of ICE and CBP agents in residential communities absent credible, targeted warrants • Prohibit immigration enforcement activities at sensitive locations, including schools, early childhood centers, bus stops, hospitals, and houses of worship • Require judicial warrants for enforcement actions and eliminate policies that allow warrantless operations • Mandate full cooperation by DHS with state and local investigations into serious incidents involving injury or death • Require ICE and CBP agents to meet the same transparency standards as other law enforcement officers—body cameras, visible identification, and no masked operations except in narrowly defined circumstances This is no longer solely an immigration policy dispute. It is a human rights issue. It is a civil rights issue. It is a question of whether federal power will be exercised within constitutional boundaries or deployed in ways that intimidate and endanger the very communities it claims to protect. Do not capitulate. Do not dilute oversight. Demand reform as a condition of funding. The safety, dignity, and constitutional rights of your constituents depend on it.