1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am a constituent writing with deep concern about the current funding negotiations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its sub-agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the ongoing harm caused by immigration-enforcement operations that have resulted in serious injuries and the deaths of U.S. citizens. In the ongoing federal appropriations process, Congress has faced a stalemate over the DHS funding bill. A short-term extension was passed in the Senate to allow further negotiations over immigration enforcement reforms, but full fiscal year funding for DHS — including ICE — remains unresolved amid a partial government shutdown. Separate from the appropriations deadlines, concern about ICE’s current operations has surged following the deaths of U.S. citizens during enforcement activities, and broader civil‑rights backlash against ICE’s tactics. Advocates, lawmakers, and constituents have urged elected officials to reconsider blanket funding for ICE without meaningful, enforceable restrictions on its use of force, detention practices, and transparency. Given this context, I expect you to oppose any appropriations bill or continuing resolution that includes funding for ICE unless it is conditioned on binding, enforceable reforms that bring ICE fully under congressional oversight and accountability. This includes clear statutory limits on the use of force, independent misconduct investigations, mandatory identification of agents, bans on pretextual and warrantless stops, and community-level safeguards to protect constitutional rights. Your office should also support legislative measures that redirect federal resources away from punitive enforcement toward community health, education, and services that safely and humanely support immigrants and vulnerable populations affected by immigration policy. Federal funds should not bankroll agencies that operate with impunity and without adequate accountability mechanisms. Further deaths, injuries, or constitutional violations resulting from federal enforcement practices are foreseeable and preventable, and continued funding without reform will carry shared political and moral responsibility for those outcomes. I request that you communicate your position on ICE funding in the current appropriations process to your colleagues and the public, and act immediately to withhold ICE funding until substantial, enforceable reforms are adopted by law.