To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

Tell Congress: Cut funding to ICE and CBP

We the undersigned ask you to take immediate action to cut funding to the Trump Administration’s hateful border militarization and immigration enforcement regime. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection operate with near impunity and carry out discriminatory detention and deportation programs that separate families in our communities every single day. These agencies are inherently harmful, and we ask you to take immediate action to cut their funding in this round of budget negotiations.

Why is this important?

The Trump Administration is seeking billions of dollars for the southern border wall, border technology, and more agents. Each of these asks is unacceptable. The wall is a hateful symbol of exclusion, and coupled with increased technology, will further militarize and surveil border communities. CBP agents and officers are at the front lines of Trump’s aggressive family separation policy and operate with little to no accountability for the abuses and terror that they inflict upon those arriving to our border and those that live in border communities.

ICE detains hundreds of thousands of immigrants behind bars every year. This oppressive, inhumane and deadly system of detention continues to grow bigger, less transparent and less accountable. ICE continues to overspend their appropriated funds while counting on bailouts from Congress. All the while they are expanding detention and becoming increasingly secretive about their work. Hunger strikes, reports of physical and sexual abuse, and retaliation against those that speak out highlight the worsening conditions and opposition to treating immigrants with dignity.

CBP and ICE have shown that more funding leads to more harm. Increasing funding to either of these agencies is unworthy of discussion. We demand that you stop the growth of the harmful detention and deportation machine and support significant cuts to ICE and CBP.