1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

I am asking the United States Congress, the Senate now and the House later, to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless and until Congress imposes enforceable limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
The House has already passed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that preserves ICE’s budget for fiscal year 2026. That legislation now moves to the Senate as part of a broader funding package that must be resolved by January 30 to avoid a partial government shutdown. The Senate must not allow this moment to pass without meaningful action.

The violence is escalating. Alex Pretti’s killing was the ninth ICE shooting since September 2025. Claims that withholding DHS funding would jeopardize public safety or essential services are misleading. ICE recently received approximately $75 billion through last year’s major budget legislation, funds provided without meaningful guardrails or oversight. Even in the event of a funding lapse, ICE would be able to sustain operations for years using existing resources. Other DHS agencies should not be used as political cover to continue financing an enforcement arm that has repeatedly violated constitutional rights.

The Senate now has real leverage and a clear responsibility. Senators must withhold support for any funding bill or continuing resolution that maintains ICE funding without enforceable reforms, and must work to reclaim previously appropriated funds that are enabling unlawful and deadly conduct.

Congress’s power of the purse exists for moments exactly like this. The Senate must use it now.