1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the fiscal year 2026 Department of Homeland Security funding bill and to demand the complete defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has become a danger to the people of the United States, and I cannot support any legislation that provides this agency with additional resources. ICE operates with impunity and poses a threat to public safety rather than protecting it. The agency lacks accountability and oversight, and recent incidents demonstrate that providing more funding without addressing systemic problems will only enable further harm to both immigrants and U.S. citizens. Republicans already provided ICE with tens of billions of dollars in new funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That money is currently being used to hire thousands of new ICE agents and build new detention centers for a nationwide immigration crackdown. As Senate Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Patty Murray stated, ICE has enough money. What the agency lacks is accountability. Making matters worse, ICE has been actively preventing lawmakers from inspecting detention facilities. This obstruction of congressional oversight is unacceptable and demonstrates the agency's refusal to operate transparently. An agency that hides from scrutiny cannot be trusted with additional taxpayer dollars. I understand concerns about funding other DHS priorities, but a continuing resolution addresses those needs without rewarding ICE's dangerous conduct. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has correctly identified that there is no bipartisan path forward that includes new ICE funding, and I support his call for ICE restrictions in any appropriations bill. I urge you to vote against the FY2026 DHS funding bill and to advocate publicly for defunding ICE. This agency threatens the safety and rights of people across the United States, and it must be held accountable.