The Senate Must Withhold DHS Funding Until ICE Is Brought Under the Law

Today, we call on the United States Senate to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless and until Congress imposes enforceable limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We also copy the House of Representatives, which will ultimately be required to vote again on any final appropriations package. This request follows the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026. Pretti was filming federal agents when he was violently restrained and killed. His death came just weeks after another fatal ICE shooting in the same city and is part of a growing pattern of deadly force used by immigration authorities against both immigrants and citizens. The House has already passed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that preserves ICE’s budget for fiscal year 2026. That legislation now moves to the Senate as part of a broader funding package that must be resolved by January 30 to avoid a partial government shutdown. The Senate must not allow this moment to pass without meaningful action. Recent disclosures confirm that ICE is operating outside constitutional limits. A whistleblower revealed an internal DHS memo authorizing agents to enter homes without a judicial warrant—an explicit violation of the Fourth Amendment. Since their creation in 2003, ICE and its parent agency, Customs and Border Protection, have engaged in warrantless raids, unconstitutional interior checkpoints, family separations, and widespread abuse in detention. These are systemic failures that persist despite years of warnings, litigation, and public outcry. The violence is escalating. Alex Pretti’s killing was the ninth ICE shooting since September 2025. Federal agents have increasingly been deployed into cities with little coordination with local authorities, inadequate training, and minimal accountability. This is not a matter of isolated misconduct; it is the predictable result of an agency operating without effective constraints. Claims that withholding DHS funding would jeopardize public safety or essential services are misleading. ICE recently received approximately $75 billion through last year’s major budget legislation, funds provided without meaningful guardrails or oversight. Even in the event of a funding lapse, ICE would be able to sustain operations for years using existing resources. Other DHS agencies should not be used as political cover to continue financing an enforcement arm that has repeatedly violated constitutional rights. The Senate now has real leverage and a clear responsibility. Senators must withhold support for any funding bill or continuing resolution that maintains ICE funding without enforceable reforms, and must work to reclaim previously appropriated funds that are enabling unlawful and deadly conduct. Congress’s power of the purse exists for moments exactly like this. The Senate must use it now.