1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Dear Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, I am writing to express my unequivocal condemnation of your decision to support funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This choice is not only disappointing—it is unacceptable. By endorsing increased resources for an agency with a documented history of abuse and neglect, you have chosen to perpetuate harm rather than pursue justice. The facts are clear and devastating: • Over 200 people have died in ICE custody since 2003. • At least 40 deaths occurred between 2017 and 2021, many linked to medical neglect and unsafe conditions. • In 2020 alone, 8 individuals died in ICE detention, the highest annual total in over a decade, despite reduced detainee numbers during the pandemic. • Causes of death include suicide, untreated illnesses, and systemic failures in providing basic care—failures that ICE has repeatedly been warned about and failed to correct. In January 2026 alone we have seen the undeniable murders of Nichole Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of ICE agents without any accountability. Nichole and Alex were both US citizens brutalized by the very organization you have endorsed. These are not abstract numbers; they represent human lives lost under a system funded and supported by decisions like yours. Every dollar allocated to ICE is a dollar that enables further suffering, fear, and death. This is not leadership—it is complicity. I demand that you reverse your position and instead champion policies that uphold human rights, prioritize community safety, and dismantle the inhumane practices that ICE embodies. Your constituents deserve a representative who fights for justice, not one who bankrolls cruelty. I will be watching your actions closely and holding you accountable. This is not a matter of politics—it is a matter of morality and humanity. Sincerely,