1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to oppose the ten ICE reform measures proposed by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for inclusion in fiscal year 2026 Department of Homeland Security funding. More fundamentally, I urge you to vote against any appropriations that fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The proposed reforms attempt to make ICE operations more palatable through measures like requiring judicial warrants, prohibiting face coverings, mandating identification display, and protecting sensitive locations. These changes miss the essential problem. ICE has become an agency that separates families, detains people in substandard conditions, and operates with a mission fundamentally at odds with human dignity and community safety. The recent deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis demonstrate that no amount of procedural reform can fix an agency whose core function causes harm. Requiring body cameras or standardizing uniforms does not address the trauma inflicted on communities when immigration enforcement targets neighborhoods, workplaces, and public spaces. Prohibiting racial profiling on paper means little when the agency's mandate inherently involves targeting people based on national origin and immigration status. Rather than spending taxpayer dollars on reforms that legitimize ICE's continued existence, those resources should be redirected to programs that actually strengthen communities. We need investment in legal services for immigrants, community-based alternatives to detention, and pathways to citizenship for the millions of undocumented people who live, work, and contribute to this country. I recognize this position may differ from the Democratic leadership's approach, but incremental reforms will not solve systemic problems. The fiscal year 2026 appropriations process provides an opportunity to fundamentally reimagine how we approach immigration enforcement. I urge you to oppose funding for ICE and instead support policies that treat all people with dignity regardless of where they were born.