CHN sent this letter to every Congressional office on February 6 opposing any additional funding – including another Continuing Resolution (CR) – for ICE and federal immigration enforcement actions until policymakers negotiate substantial reforms to end the harms hitting communities nationwide.

February 6, 2026 

Dear Member of Congress: 

On behalf of the Coalition on Human Needs, we urge you to vote NO on any Continuing Resolution or full year FY 2026 DHS appropriations bill that continues funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while violence and fear grip communities across the country. Families are being torn apart. Children are traumatized. Neighborhoods are destabilized by enforcement operations that have already cost lives. Congress cannot continue to finance this harm under the guise of routine funding. Instead, we call on you to reject any continued funding for ICE and CBP until real reforms end the violence and abuse – in a real, effective way versus performative measures. 

The Coalition on Human Needs brings together human service providers, faith communities, policy experts, civil rights and labor organizations, and others committed to meeting the needs of people with low incomes. Our members see every day how enforcement actions spread fear that keeps parents from taking children to school, families from seeking medical care, workers from reporting abuse, and survivors from asking for help. When communities live in fear, access to healthcare, housing, food, and economic security is undermined. 

In the wake of the killings of Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, Silverio Villegas González, and Alex Pretti, the deaths of many others in detention, and as federal agents deploy tear gas against families and conduct aggressive enforcement operations in residential neighborhoods, Congress cannot continue funding as if nothing has changed. Despite widespread public outrage, the violence has not subsided.  

The rampant illegality of ICE’s actions in Minnesota requires you to take meaningful action.  Patrick  Schiltz, Chief Judge of the Minnesota U.S. District Court, was impelled to require the acting director of ICE to appear in person to show why he should not be held in contempt over the failure to comply with “dozens of court orders.” Chief Judge Schiltz acknowledged his order was extraordinary, but needed  “because the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary.” 

Repeated short-term Continuing Resolutions that extend DHS funding without enforceable reforms allow this harm to continue. Each extension sends the message that there are no meaningful consequences for warrantless arrests, racial profiling, enforcement at sensitive locations, or deadly detention conditions. In the absence of enforceable guardrails that stop these abuses, Congress must not vote to continue the status quo. 

If Congress cannot reach agreement on binding measures that meaningfully curb harmful enforcement practices, Members should refuse to extend funding for ICE and CBP. Congress must not bankroll interior enforcement operations that are harming families and ignoring our Constitution. Keeping the government open must not come at the expense of human life, constitutional rights, and basic dignity. 

We have outlined the requirements for meaningful reform in the memorandum we signed with many other organizations, “What Does Justice Look Like in a Renegotiated DHS Spending Bill?”. That framework calls for enforceable measures to halt enforcement funding pending full investigation into recent deaths and use of force, end racial profiling and so-called “Kavanaugh stops,” prohibit enforcement at sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, stop warrantless arrests without judicial warrants, end family detention, prevent expansion of 287(g) agreements, and ensure real accountability. These are not cosmetic changes. They are necessary steps to stop harmful practices. And it is critical that these proposals apply to all funding within DHS, including massive increases in spending paid for by cuts to basic needs programs in last year’s reconciliation package.  

Oversight without enforceable limits does not stop abuse. The question before Congress is simple: does this legislation stop the harm? If it does not, it does not meet the moment. 

Congress has already provided tens of billions of dollars in additional enforcement funding, including $75 billion for ICE, including increased detention capacity, through reconciliation legislation. That expansion has not improved safety or accountability. Instead, detention has become deadlier and enforcement more aggressive while urgent human needs remain underfunded. Continuing to extend or expand this funding through additional Continuing Resolutions or full-year legislation deepens the damage and diverts resources from families who need support. 

Rather than continuing the status quo, Congress should rescind and redirect enforcement funds toward healthcare, housing stability, nutrition assistance, education, and other supports that strengthen families and communities. At a time when families struggle to afford basic necessities, it is indefensible to pour billions more into detention and enforcement that flout constitutional protections. 

A vote for a Continuing Resolution or full-year DHS bill that continues ICE and CBP funding without enforceable limits is not neutral. It is a choice to maintain a system that has inflicted profound harm. 

We urge you to vote NO on any Continuing Resolution that extends funding for ICE and CBP while violence persists and meaningful guardrails are absent. This is a moment for leadership and moral clarity. Congress must not continue to fund harm. 

Sincerely yours, 

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director