1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

I urge you to vote against the government spending bill if it includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The current proposal is inadequate to address the serious abuses occurring under ICE operations, and our communities deserve meaningful accountability measures before Congress allocates additional taxpayer dollars to this agency. Three shootings by federal agents have occurred in Minnesota this month alone, including the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent who was filming on his cellphone rather than using proper body camera equipment. Another fatal shooting by a Border Patrol agent happened in Minneapolis on Saturday. These incidents demonstrate a pattern of violence and lack of accountability that demands immediate reform, not continued funding without guardrails. The spending bill allocates $20 million for body cameras, yet federal agents remain under no requirement to actually wear them. President Trump rescinded the Biden-era policy that would have mandated body camera use, and DHS proposed cutting body camera program funding by nearly 75% in June 2025, reducing staff from 22 full-time employees to just three. This contradiction reveals that the administration has no genuine commitment to transparency or accountability. ICE already received a historic $75 billion for mass deportation efforts through legislation passed last year. Before providing additional funding, Congress must establish enforceable safeguards. This means mandatory body camera use during all enforcement operations, independent oversight mechanisms, and clear consequences for agents who violate protocols. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Tim Kaine, Brian Schatz, and Mark Warner have already announced their opposition to this bill, recognizing that undertrained, combative federal agents operating without accountability pose a threat to public safety. I ask you to join them in voting no on any spending measure that includes DHS funding until meaningful reforms are enacted. Our communities cannot wait while ICE continues operations that terrorize residents and result in preventable deaths.