1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am writing as a Pennsylvania constituent to urge you to oppose any state support, cooperation, or advocacy that enables continued funding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has a well-documented record of due process violations, prolonged civil detention that functions as punishment, family separation, and preventable deaths in custody linked to inadequate medical care. These outcomes are not rare or accidental. They are the predictable result of an enforcement system that relies on detention, weak oversight, and privatized contracts rather than lawful, humane administration. While Congress controls federal appropriations, states play a meaningful role through cooperation agreements, information sharing, detention contracts, and political support. Pennsylvania should not lend its resources or legitimacy to an agency that repeatedly operates outside constitutional norms and basic standards of care. This is a fiscal issue as well as a moral one. Billions of public dollars are spent on detention and enforcement strategies that fail to improve safety or compliance. Evidence consistently shows that community-based case management programs achieve high appearance rates at a fraction of the cost, without the human harm caused by detention. Continuing to support ICE in its current form wastes taxpayer money while exposing people to unnecessary suffering. Pennsylvania has an opportunity to lead by refusing to support unlawful and inhumane enforcement practices and by advocating for alternatives grounded in due process, accountability, and human dignity. I urge you to oppose policies or funding streams that sustain ICE’s detention-first model and to publicly support a shift toward lawful, humane immigration enforcement. Please make your position clear to the people of Pennsylvania.