1. United States
2. N.M.
3. Letter

I urge you to oppose all funding for ICE unless it includes clear, enforceable, systemic reforms. It is worth shutting down ICE (and other parts of the government) by withholding funding approvals (filibuster!!) at the end of January. Reforms (and penalties for non-compliance) need to be very explicit. They should include, for example: - DHS, ICE, CBP shall impose reforms no later than a deadline of 90 calendar days after funding extension is passed into law. To be considered to be in effect, the reforms must be reviewed & approved by a 60% majority of ALL committees in the House & Senate that have oversight responsibility/authority for DHS, ICE, CBP. - The heads of DHS, ICE and/or CBP shall be personally penalized $5000 per calendar day when their organization is out of compliance with the 90-day dead-line (this could be stronger if it started @ say $1000/day and the daily fine cumulatively doubled after each week of non-compliance!); - The law must be very clear that DHS employees, agents, officers and even volunteers/deputies are not given “absolute immunity” from prosecution for violating applicable state or federal laws, or provisions of the US Constitution; - Require ICE agents to take off their masks and disallow makeup/face paint or other measures to obscure facial features; - Require agents to wear legible ID (legal initials and last name, organization, alphanumeric badge & ID); - Ensure the agency adopts and follows basic standards of professional policing; - Ban armed immigration agents from aimlessly roaming our streets to provoke conflict; - Investigate and punish agents who kill, beat, or unlawfully detain people; Accountability mechanisms must be written into law, not left to agency discretion. Human rights protections must be mandatory, not optional. This is not about procedural brinkmanship. It is about responsible governance. Congress holds the power of the purse for a reason. It is time to use it.