1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

The February 13 deadline for Department of Homeland Security funding presents a critical opportunity to fundamentally restructure immigration enforcement by defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This two-week window exists because Congress deliberately separated DHS from the full-year funding package that passed on March 25, creating space to address the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. I urge you to use this narrow negotiating window to eliminate ICE funding entirely. The agency has operated with minimal accountability while conducting raids that tear apart families and communities. The Minneapolis killings demonstrate the deadly consequences of empowering federal immigration enforcement with insufficient oversight and unchecked authority. Rep. Rosa DeLauro argued this short-term funding arrangement allows Congress to "isolate DHS and go at it, hammer and tongs" without jeopardizing other federal departments. She is correct. This is the moment to act decisively rather than accept incremental reforms that preserve a fundamentally broken system. The political dynamics favor bold action. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer negotiated this two-week extension specifically to address Democratic demands for immigration enforcement reforms. The national outcry following the Minneapolis deaths has created public momentum for systemic change, not minor adjustments to ICE operations. I recognize that Rep. Robert Aderholt has suggested the "vast differences" between parties may require another extension to March 1. Delay serves only to diffuse urgency and weaken resolve. The February 13 deadline must be met with a DHS appropriations bill that zeroes out ICE funding and redirects those resources toward humane immigration processing and community-based alternatives to detention. I expect you to fight for complete ICE defunding in the DHS negotiations. Half measures will not address the systemic problems that led to two Americans being killed by federal agents.