1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

We call on the U.S. Senate to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless Congress imposes enforceable limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This demand follows the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis while filming their actions. His death came just weeks after another fatal ICE shooting in the same city and reflects a broader pattern of escalating and unchecked violence by immigration authorities. The House has passed a DHS funding bill that preserves ICE’s FY2026 budget. The Senate must not advance this funding without meaningful reform. ICE is now operating outside constitutional limits, including documented authorization for warrantless home entries in violation of the Fourth Amendment. These abuses—warrantless raids, unchecked use of force, and lack of accountability—are systemic, not isolated. Alex Pretti’s killing was the ninth ICE shooting since September 2025. Agents are being deployed into cities with minimal oversight, inadequate training, and no real accountability. Claims that withholding DHS funding would endanger public safety are misleading; ICE already received tens of billions in recent appropriations and can continue operating without new funds. Congress’s power of the purse exists for moments like this. The Senate must use it now