Amid the ongoing debate over enforcement of immigration policies, the Trump administration is now requesting $8.3 billion in discretionary funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2019. This is a $967 million increase over this year’s budget.
According to an article in The Hill, this extra funding will be split into four categories, one of which would provide alternatives to detention, but a large portion of it would be allocated towards funding for more ICE agents and detention space, allowing room to escalate the family separation, family detention, and asylum crisis even further.
WRITE CONGRESS
Click here to tell your members of Congress to live out our call to care for “the least of these” and uphold the sanctity of the family by rejecting DHS’s request to transfer more money to ICE and by exerting more oversight and accountability over DHS.
CALL CONGRESS
The Senators and Representatives listed below are the key Members who control whether ICE will receive additional funds. Please make these 4 phone calls today!
- Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) (Chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, House Appropriations Committee): (202) 225-2865 / @RepKevinYoder
- Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) (Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Senate Appropriations Committee): (202) 224-6472 / @SenCapito
- Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) (Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, House Appropriations Committee): (202) 225-1766 / @RepRoybalAllard
- Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) (Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Senate Appropriations Committee): (202) 224-2644 / @SenatorTester
Sample Script: "My name is ______ and I live in [CITY/TOWN], and [as a person of faith] I urge you to live out our call to care for “the least of these” and uphold the sanctity of the family. I ask you to publicly reject DHS’s request to transfer more money to ICE to detain and deport families. I also urge you to exert more oversight and accountability over DHS. Please tell DHS to stop family detention and immediately comply with the court order to reunite families. The policy of jailing families, separating children, and criminalizing migrants and people seeking protection is morally wrong and must stop. Thank you."
TWEET
Don’t forget to share the same message with your Senators & Representatives on social media! Here are sample social media posts:
- .@[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] invest in families, NOT in @ICE’s plan for family incarceration and deportation. #FamiliesBelongTogether
- .@[MEMBER OF CONGRESS] Don’t waste taxpayer dollars on jailing and separating immigrant families. #FamiliesBelongTogether
Thank you.
Photo: Immigrants held in cages during processing by U.S. Border Patrol at the Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas, on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Photo by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.