1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am writing as a Pennsylvania constituent to state plainly that I cannot support any funding bill that continues to finance large-scale immigration detention facilities operating under dangerous and inhumane conditions. Recent reports from immigration detention centers in Texas, including Alvarado, indicate that people held in federal custody were exposed to freezing temperatures without adequate heat or warm clothing. Individuals in detention are entirely dependent on the government for basic necessities. When the government confines people in mass detention facilities and then fails to provide heat, safety, or humane living conditions, this is not a logistical failure — it is an abuse of power. These conditions reflect a broader system of indefinite civil detention that deprives people of liberty without criminal due process while subjecting them to overcrowding, medical neglect, and unsafe environmental conditions. Regardless of one’s views on immigration policy, no system that detains people at scale under such conditions should receive additional funding without fundamental reform. In my view, such a system should not exist at all. This concern is compounded by recent fatal encounters involving immigration enforcement in public spaces. An agency that cannot ensure basic safety for people already in its custody should not be entrusted with expanded authority or increased funding. Before any funding bill advances, I am asking for clear answers and action. Will you oppose appropriations that fund immigration detention facilities that fail to meet basic health and safety standards, including adequate climate control? Will you support independent inspections and public reporting on detention conditions, rather than relying on internal reviews or contractor assurances? And will you commit to conditioning or withholding funding unless Congress receives verifiable proof that detainees are being held in humane and constitutional conditions? If these questions cannot be answered affirmatively, then funding this system is indefensible. Federal dollars should not be used to sustain detention practices that endanger lives and violate basic standards of human dignity. I urge you to vote against any funding bill that continues to bankroll abusive immigration detention without real accountability and meaningful change.