This legislative ask is designed to be shared with your members of Congress and their staff.
Communities nationwide are experiencing deep disruption as immigration enforcement expands into civic life. Warrantless operations and state violence have eroded public trust, while families miss school, work, medical appointments, and worship services out of concern. Faith communities affirm that security for some cannot come at the expense of others. Civil immigration enforcement must never violate constitutional rights.
Congress must exercise its power of the purse responsibly. Not another penny should be spent on expanding immigration enforcement; funding must prioritize accountability and oversight mechanisms. Last year, Congress passed $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without sufficient accountability measures—more than the military defense budget for most nations. Extending or expanding funding without enforceable safeguards is unconscionable.
Not another penny. Protect civil liberties and communities.
Like all law enforcement agencies, ICE and Border Patrol must operate within legislative guidelines that honor constitutional protections. Not a penny more for brutal operations and impunity. Congress must pass a fiscal year 2026 Homeland Security Appropriations Act that:
- Invests in meaningful accountability and oversight, including clear guidelines to ensure communities are safe from unchecked enforcement, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Advancing the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 1061/ S. 455) would restore longstanding, sensible, bipartisan guardrails and ensure statutory clarity on enforcement in these spaces.
- Ends warrantless operations by masked and unidentified agents carrying out state violence, beginning the repair of public trust.
For more than three decades, sensitive location policies have protected foundational American values: the right to freely exercise religion, access safe schools and healthcare, and enjoy due process, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Enforcement at or near schools, houses of worship, healthcare facilities, and social services occurred only under exceptional circumstances, based on careful, judicious determinations. Those bipartisan guardrails were rescinded in January 2025, causing civic harm that disrupts daily activities and access to services for all Americans.
Congress has the power to rein in cavalier, indiscriminate enforcement, protect civil liberties, and ensure our communities are safe.
