1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of passing the five non-DHS appropriations bills immediately while continuing to block the Department of Homeland Security funding package until meaningful reforms are enacted. With the partial government shutdown deadline of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 31 rapidly approaching, Congress must keep essential services funded without compromising accountability for immigration enforcement operations. The Senate's 55-45 vote blocking the six-bill package demonstrates bipartisan concern about ICE operations. Democrats and eight Republicans refused to advance a deal that would have provided approximately $64.4 billion for DHS, including roughly $10 billion for ICE, because the proposed reforms amount to little more than cosmetic changes. Adding $20 million each for body cameras and independent detention oversight does not address the fundamental problems with how immigration enforcement operates in public spaces. Recent events prove that accountability measures are desperately needed. DHS informed Senator Susan Collins that ICE ended its enhanced large-scale operations in Maine only after significant public backlash. Reuters has reported multiple shootings tied to enforcement operations and six deaths in ICE detention centers since the start of 2026. These are not isolated incidents but evidence of systemic problems that require enforceable guardrails, not performative fixes. There is no reason to hold the other five appropriations bills hostage to DHS funding. Passing those bills immediately would keep vital government services running while giving Congress time to craft DHS legislation with real enforcement limits. The current proposal fails to protect communities from aggressive enforcement tactics that have already proven dangerous and deadly. I urge you to support funding for the five non-DHS bills before the January 31 deadline and to demand that any future DHS appropriations include enforceable rules that fundamentally change how immigration enforcement operates. Our communities deserve both functioning government services and genuine accountability for federal law enforcement agencies.