No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

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Tell Congress: No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

We are approaching a major turning point in FY 2026. With the surge of ICE and CBP agents in Minneapolis, the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the kidnapping of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos (BBC) fresh in their minds, Senate Democrats have refused to support further funding for the Department of Homeland Security without significant reforms. Negotiations on reforms failed during a two-week funding extension in February, so funding for the Department of Homeland Security ended on February 14. The shutdown has now lasted for more than 60 days. However, ICE and CBP enforcement activities have continued using funds from the nearly $140 billion in additional funding provided to them in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Democrats continue to demand a set of civil-rights-oriented reforms in federal immigration enforcement that emphasize transparency, judicial oversight, and alignment with local policing norms. These proposed reforms or “guardrails” would:

Prohibit immigration officers from wearing masks during enforcement activities and require visible identification numbers
Require that ICE and CBP agents use body cameras during enforcement activities
Limit warrantless searches and arrests
End roving patrols and encourage coordination with state and local law enforcement
Subject federal immigration agents to the same use-of-force rules that govern local police and require independent investigations of use of force incidents

The House has passed an appropriation bill with full funding for DHS but without any of these reforms. A bipartisan group of Senators has negotiated with the Trump administration, but so far, the Trump administration has not agreed to any legislation to implement these proposed reforms.

Now, Republicans are working a plan to fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation, which would not require any Democratic support. They plan to introduce a narrowly focused reconciliation bill that would fully fund ICE and CBP for three years, and President Trump has endorsed this approach. The reconciliation bill would provide about $70 billion in funding for ICE and CBP to sustain them until at least the end of Trump’s term and would not include any of the guardrails on federal immigration agents that Democrats have proposed.

The administration has set a June 1 deadline for passage of the reconciliation bill, so it is urgent that you contact your Senators and Representative now! Urge them to cut back on the huge increases in funding for ICE and CBP and strengthen Congressional oversight of enforcement activities and detention. Say No to abusive enforcement. No more attacks on our communities and our immigrant neighbors!

Our demands clear:

ICE and CBP surges in our communities should be prohibited.
Full Congressional investigations of past abuses must be conducted.
The DHS funding bill must impose accountability.
ICE and CBP enforcement at sensitive locations must stop.
Warrantless arrests must be prohibited.
The reckless, often lawless, use of force must end.
Family and child detention must end.
Massive increases in detention capacity must not be funded.

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UU Grounding

As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.)

With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call to preserve easy access to the vote in support of immigration justice in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements:

Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) with a Pathway to Permanent Residence, 2023 Action of Immediate Witness
Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 Statement of Conscience
Protect the Rights of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers, 2019 Action of Immediate Witness
End Family Separation and Detention of Asylum Seekers and Abolish ICE, 2018 Action of Immediate Witness
Build Solidarity with our Muslim Neighbors, 2016 Action of Immediate Witness
End Immigrant Child and Family Detention Now, 2015 Action of Immediate Witness
Immigration as a Moral Issue, 2013 Statement of Conscience

Tell Congress: No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

We are approaching a major turning point in FY 2026. The administration has set a June 1 deadline for passage of the reconciliation bill, so it is urgent that you contact your Senators and Representative now! Urge them to cut back on the huge increases in funding for ICE and CBP and strengthen Congressional oversight of enforcement activities and detention. Say No to abusive enforcement. No more attacks on our communities and our immigrant neighbors!

Sign now to send a message to your elected representatives to demonstrate courage in this dire moment. You'll be able to customize your email to Congress on the next screen.

No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

Subject: No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

Message:

As your constituent and a person motivated by faith and moral values, I urge you to reject increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Their invasion of our communities during the past year was intolerable, their violence was unforgivable, and their lawlessness was unacceptable. During the past year ICE has continued to detain and deport DACA recipients and recently arrested and detained an 85-year-old widow and the wife of an American soldier who was about to deploy. Therefore, I urge you to: - Continue to oppose further funding for DHS, unless the administration commits to common sense “guardrails” for removing ICE and CBP agents. - Vote against any bill that does not include a robust Congressional investigation of past enforcement practices, use of force, and civil rights violations. Once that threshold is met: - Reduce ICE and CBP funding; yes, claw-back funds allocated under OBBBA. - Advance policy provisions that stop the violence and abuse by ICE and CBP. - Eschew measures that only include body-worn cameras, more training, or provisions that reinforce the existing procedures. - Discontinue enforcement at sensitive and private locations, including hospitals, schools, houses of worship, community service sites, and public protests. - End family and child detention - Prohibit any new contracts with private detention companies. - Stop the warrantless arrests and require judicial warrants in all instances - Ensure accountability among federal officers and their superiors and end qualified immunity. This is a time of moral and political crisis. Children are being traumatized, Dreamers are being arrested and deported, and even Americans are being racially profiled and detained. Our First and Fourth Amendment rights are being violated. An increasing majority of Americans believe that ICE and CBP tactics have gone too far and want them constrained and monitored. And I agree. Now is the time for moral courage. ICE and CBP are out of control and threatening our communities. Please reject more funding for ICE and CBP and impose common-sense guardrails for ICE and CBP. I urge you to demand professionalism, accountability, and transparency in immigration enforcement and detention. That is the responsible, pro-community way to keep people safe.

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No more funding ICE/DHS Repub

Subject: No more funding for ICE and CBP without transparency and accountability!

Message:

As your constituent and a person motivated by faith and moral values, I urge you to reject increases in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) until common sense “guardrails” are enacted. The recent surge of ICE and CPB agents in Minneapolis was an operational disaster. The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos made national and international headlines, weakening public trust in the Department of Homeland Security and damaging the image of the U.S. throughout the world. Operation Metro Surge led to the arrest of about 4,000 immigrants, but around two-thirds of them had no criminal convictions or pending charges. This, combined with the fact that Operation Metro Surge ended up doing millions of dollars of damage to Minneapolis and surrounding communities, destroyed what little trust local citizens had in ICE and CBP. Common sense guidelines, such as prohibiting operations in and around churches, hospitals, and schools, and requiring the use of body cameras, would strengthen public trust. When the public trusts that agents will follow standards similar to local police, cooperation increases and enforcement becomes more effective. Enacting standardized guidelines would provide legal clarity and prevent chaotic directives that put agents and the public at risk. It could also prevent the next operational disaster, which could cripple future enforcement. Standardized operating policies and procedures prevent wasteful detentions, mistaken arrests, and costly litigation, thereby ensuring that limited public funds are spent responsibly. As our national debt approaches $40 trillion, I urge you to ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. In particular, I urge you to ensure that ICE and CBP target criminals, not immigrants with no criminal history. One of the best ways for Congress to ensure fiscal responsibility is through the annual appropriations process. I urge you to assess ICE and CPB needs and provide appropriate funding through annual appropriations, not a massive, multi-year appropriation.

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