Vote Against Homeland Security Funding Bill Due to ICE Accountability Failures

I urge you to vote against the remaining spending package when it comes before the Senate next week, specifically due to the inadequate accountability measures for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The January 30 deadline should not pressure us into accepting legislation that fails to protect American citizens and immigrant families from documented abuses. The shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Macklin Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month exemplifies why stronger constraints are essential. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accurately described ICE as "totally out of control using taxpayer dollars to brutalize American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families." This is not hyperbole when American citizens are being killed. While the bill includes body camera funding and a $115 million reduction in enforcement and removal operations, it fails to include critical protections that Democrats attempted to add. The legislation does not prohibit ICE from deporting or detaining American citizens, does not ban excessive force, and does not explicitly prevent raids at places of worship, hospitals, and schools. These are not radical demands but basic safeguards that should be non-negotiable. I understand the argument that a government shutdown would be harmful and that this bill includes important funding for FEMA, TSA, and other vital agencies. However, voting for this package signals acceptance of an enforcement agency operating without sufficient accountability. The modest concessions in this bill, including flat overall ICE funding and reduced detention bed capacity, do not address the fundamental problem of an agency that can kill citizens without facing meaningful legislative constraints. I ask you to vote no on this spending package and demand that any future appropriations include the protections for American citizens and immigrant families that were stripped from this bill. Accountability cannot wait for the next budget cycle.