1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the current Department of Homeland Security funding bill and support efforts to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The recent fatal shootings of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, and Renee Good, a mother of three, by federal agents in Minnesota demonstrate that ICE has become an agency operating without accountability or regard for human life. Federal officials have defended both shootings as justified, but video evidence reportedly contradicts these claims. When federal agents can kill American citizens in broad daylight and face zero consequences, we have a fundamental breakdown in the rule of law. This is not about immigration policy. This is about whether we will continue funding an agency that murders people on American streets. The deadline is midnight Friday. I support Senate Democrats' position that they will not provide votes to proceed on the appropriations bill if DHS funding is included. While I understand the risk of a partial government shutdown, funding an agency that traumatizes children and kills citizens without accountability is unacceptable. Beyond opposing this bill, I urge you to take the more significant step of defunding ICE entirely. The agency has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot be reformed through training requirements, warrant mandates, or identification protocols. These are band-aid solutions to a systemic problem. ICE has evolved into a paramilitary force that operates with impunity in our communities, far beyond any reasonable interpretation of immigration enforcement. More than 100 House Democrats have already called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's impeachment. This reflects the severity of the crisis. I ask you to stand with Senate Democratic leadership in refusing to fund DHS as currently structured and to advocate for the complete defunding of ICE. The American people deserve federal agencies that serve and protect them, not agencies that kill them.