WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), both members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, were joined by a group of colleagues in sending a letter to leaders of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Subcommittee on Homeland Security Committee on Appropriations requesting that they decrease funding levels for immigration enforcement and detention operations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.  

“As the administration uses its executive action to begin the long process of rebuilding the United States’ immigration system, the government’s ability to realize its vision of a more humane and just immigration system relies on Congress utilizing the appropriations process to take bold action,” the senators wrote to Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Murphy, and Ranking Member Capito. “The FY 2022 Homeland Security Appropriations bill represents a unique opportunity for Congress to support immigrant communities and roll back the worst of the policies from the prior administration. Congress must be explicit in its provision of funds for the kind of transformative change that is needed to repair and build an immigration system that is centered around community and welcoming, not on tearing families apart, undermining community safety, and destabilizing communities and workplaces through punitive enforcement measures.” 

During the Trump Administration, funding for immigration and border enforcement, detention, barriers, and agents increased at an alarming pace, virtually eliminating the ability for migrants to seek asylum at the border. President Biden’s discretionary budget request for FY 2022 calls for $8.4 billion for ICE and $16.3 billion for CBP, a slight increase from the FY 2021 enacted level.

“Specifically, we urge you to ensure that the FY 2022 appropriations bill decreases funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and reduces funding for the administration’s immigration enforcement and detention operations,” the senators added.

Joining Padilla and Menendez in sending the letter were Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Mazie D. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). 

The letter is supported by the American Immigration Council, Bend the Arc, Detention Watch Network, National Immigrant Justice Center, Southern Border Communities Coalition and United We Dream. 
 

The text of the letter can be found here and below. 

 
Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Murphy, and Ranking Member Capito: 

 
As you consider FY 2022 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations, we write to urge you to reduce funding for immigration enforcement and detention operations. Specifically, we urge you to ensure that the FY 2022 appropriations bill decreases funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and reduces funding for the administration’s immigration enforcement and detention operations.  

 
Under the Trump administration, funding for immigration and border enforcement, detention, barriers, and agents increased at an alarming pace. The prior administration used those funds to virtually eliminate the ability to seek refuge at the border and find safety in our communities. President Biden’s discretionary budget request for FY 2022 calls for $8.4 billion for ICE and $16.3 billion for CBP, a slight increase from the FY 2021 enacted level.  As the administration uses its executive action to begin the long process of rebuilding the United States’ immigration system, the government’s ability to realize its vision of a more humane and just immigration system relies on Congress utilizing the appropriations process to take bold action. 
 

First, ICE has rapidly expanded the immigration detention system, which now sprawls across more than 200 private prisons, county jails, and detention centers.  This massive expenditure of taxpayer dollars is excessive and unnecessary. The large majority of non-detained immigrants attend all of their court hearings, and with representation there is nearly 100 percent court attendance rate.  Moreover, ICE was appropriated $1.76 billion for FY 2021 for 34,000 beds; yet, taxpayers paid around $1.34 million per day on unused beds.  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in January 2021 on a significant jump in the number of guaranteed minimum beds ICE agreed to in detention contracts.  As of mid-May 2020, the GAO found that ICE was paying for more than 12,000 empty beds a day, at a cost of more than $20 million a month.  It is our responsibility to prevent ICE from wasting taxpayers’ dollars in this irresponsible way. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has further illuminated the deep suffering that results from ICE detention.  In April 2020, a federal judge in California ordered ICE to begin considering for release from ICE custody of individuals at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.  Nonetheless, as of April 8, 2021, 896 of the 14,315 people still detained by ICE, have COVID-19 and are currently under isolation or monitoring.  This is an alarming increase from 332 active cases out of the 13,890 people in ICE detention at the end of February.  Moreover, as of May 7, 2021, ICE still had no clear plan to secure COVID-19 vaccines or provide vaccines for individuals in custody in detention centers.  In addition, ICE continues to face scrutiny for medical neglect in immigration detention, and ICE has not implemented an effective case review process for the people in detention at grave risk in detention.   

Second, over the past two decades, ICE and CBP officer funding has increased dramatically. Since 2003, the number of Border Patrol agents has doubled and the number of ICE officers has tripled. DHS continues to request increased funding for CBP and ICE enforcement. Despite the increase in workforce, DHS has failed to accomplish its own enforcement goals.  Moreover, the demographic apprehended by Border Patrol has shifted significantly towards asylum-seeking unaccompanied children and families in recent years. Nonetheless, inadequate oversight has allowed for significant rates of corruption, criminal misconduct, and rights abuses.  

The FY 2022 DHS appropriations should significantly scale back ICE and CBP enforcement budgets and refocus that funding on building a culture of accountability within the agencies. Immigration enforcement in the United States has become dangerously militarized, as illustrated by the former administration sending border patrol agents with SWAT-style training to our communities, sending the military to the border, and border wall construction. Surveillance programs deployed to the border region must also be approached with caution.  

The FY 2022 Homeland Security Appropriations bill represents a unique opportunity for Congress to support immigrant communities and roll back the worst of the policies from the prior administration. Congress must be explicit in its provision of funds for the kind of transformative change that is needed to repair and build an immigration system that is centered around community and welcoming, not on tearing families apart, undermining community safety, and destabilizing communities and workplaces through punitive enforcement measures.  

Thank you for your consideration of this request.   

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