Vote NO on Any Bill Funding ICE: Lives Depend on It

The time for half-measures has passed. I am writing to demand that you vote NO on any appropriations bill that funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement at current levels. ICE has demonstrated a pattern of wanton disregard for constitutional protections, systematic violation of civil rights, and lethal violence against people regardless of their citizenship status. The killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis—an unarmed American citizen—is not an aberration. It is the inevitable result of an agency that operates with impunity, outside the bounds of law, and beyond meaningful oversight. This is not a partisan issue. This is about whether we accept a federal agency that treats the Fourth Amendment as optional, that conducts warrantless raids in our communities, that detains American citizens without due process, and that responds to lawful observation of its activities with deadly force. Every day that ICE operates unchecked, every dollar that flows to enforcement operations without binding accountability measures, makes our communities less safe—not more. Americans now face heightened danger. Opposition to ICE's tactics is the right position, but it will make individuals a target. We should expect increased ICE activity, directed by a federal administration that has shown it will punish states that refuse to comply with its agenda. Without meaningful constraints in this funding bill, people will be detained. People will be held in facilities with documented records of abuse. People may be killed. You have the power to prevent this. The appropriations process is Congress's most fundamental check on executive overreach. Use it. Do not accept cosmetic reforms like body cameras while leaving the underlying funding and operational authority intact. Do not allow ICE to receive another dollar for enforcement and removal operations until there are enforceable consequences for constitutional violations, independent oversight with real authority, and accountability for the violence already inflicted on our communities. I am watching this vote. Your constituents are watching this vote. History will record whether you stood against an agency that has become a threat to the very people it claims to protect—or whether you funded that threat with our tax dollars. Vote NO.