1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Vote no on the budget reconciliation bill that would give ICE nearly $80 billion for immigration enforcement. This represents a 365% increase in detention funding and a 500% increase for deportation operations, all without meaningful reforms to an agency that routinely violates due process rights. ICE would receive $45 billion for detention through 2029, making its detention budget nearly 50% larger than the entire federal Bureau of Prisons. Meanwhile, immigration courts would only see a 30% budget increase, meaning detention centers will be built faster than judges can be hired. People will sit in detention longer without hearings, denied their right to a timely process. This isn't border security. This is mass incarceration without accountability. The bill also imposes $1,000 fees on asylum applications and $5,000 penalties for missing court hearings, effectively eliminating asylum except for wealthy applicants. A continuance fee of $100 would force detained people to proceed without lawyers since they can't access money to request more time to find representation. ICE needs to return to its original purpose, not expand into a deportation machine that operates outside constitutional protections. Before Congress adds a single dollar to ICE's budget, the agency needs comprehensive reform that restores habeas corpus and due process. Reject this bill.