The next seven days may be the most important advocacy window this year to push back against ICE and CBP abuses. Here’s what’s happening, and how you can take action.
On February 3, Congress passed a funding deal to fund much of the government through September. But funding for federal immigration enforcement was only extended through February 13. That deadline creates a rare moment of leverage: lawmakers in the House and Senate are right now negotiating over legislative guardrails in a revised spending bill to curb abuses by ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
These guardrails must include:
- Not one more dollar for lawless immigration enforcement, and rescissions of the $170 billion in additional funding for mass detentions and deportations that was passed in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last summer.
- Prohibiting immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools, hospitals, and courthouses.
- Halting operations like Operation PARRIS directly targeting resettled refugees and others who have fled persecution and were promised safety.
- Ending family detention, protecting children, and ensuring basic standards of care in immigrant detention.
Read more about the specific legislative guardrails CWS and others are calling for here.
You can make a difference. As negotiations continue, your two senators and one representative need to hear from you. These reforms are essential, and not a dollar more should go to ICE or CBP unless and until they are enacted.
EMAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
See sample email below.
Sample Email:
My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of community], I am writing to express deep concern over the lawless immigration enforcement operations taking place around the country and in [our State].
ICE and CBP are instilling fear and creating chaos in our communities. Following the brutal killings of Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, and Alex Pretti – we have continued to see escalating raids, the ongoing detention of families, and the renewed targeting of resettled refugees. We cannot allow these agencies’ budgets to continue growing and for their agents to continue wreaking havoc in our communities with impunity.
Specifically, I urge you to support the following guardrails against lawless immigration enforcement in any renegotiated DHS spending bill:
- Not one more dollar for lawless immigration enforcement, and rescissions of the $170 billion in additional funding for mass detentions and deportations that was passed in the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last summer.
- Codifying guidance for safety at places of worship, schools, and hospitals (as provided by the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, S. 455 and H.R. 1061). The rescission of the protected areas guidance in January 2025 has allowed numerous arrests to have occurred at places of worship and other sensitive areas. The threat of immigration enforcement incursions on houses of worship restricts religious freedom and creates fear within faith communities, discouraging participation in essential religious services and limiting community members’ access to vital resources.
- Halting operations like “Operation PARRIS” that directly target resettled refugees and others who have fled persecution and were promised safety and stability.
- Ending family detention, protecting children, and ensuring basic standards of care in immigrant detention. The stories of record numbers of children and families detained and a measles outbreak in the notorious Dilley family detention camp should horrify all of us.
- Ending warrantless arrests by masked agents and halting enforcement actions based on profiling (sometimes called “Kavanaugh Stops”).
These reforms are necessary to protect our communities from DHS’s intensifying and harmful operations.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
See a sample script below.
Phone Script:
My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town], I am calling to express deep concern over the lawless immigration enforcement operations going on around the country and in our community.
I urge you to support the following guardrails against lawless immigration enforcement in any renegotiated DHS spending bill:
- Not one more dollar for lawless immigration enforcement.
- Codify guidance for safety at places of worship, schools, and hospitals (as provided by the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, S. 455 and H.R. 1061).
- Halt operations like “Operation PARRIS” that directly target resettled refugees.
- End family detention, protecting children, and ensuring basic standards of care in immigrant detention.
- End warrantless arrests by masked agents and halt enforcement actions based on profiling.
These reforms are necessary to protect our communities from DHS’s intensifying and harmful operations.
Thank you.
AMPLIFY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
See sample posts below.
@[legislator] It is time that we hold ICE and CBP accountable for their actions. We must pass meaningful, legislative guardrails on ICE and CBP abuses.
@[legislator] Allowing ICE to operate without any oversight or accountability is a threat to our safety and community. Hold them accountable by rejecting any increase in #DHSgovfunding!
@[legislator] ICE is creating chaos and unleashing violence in our cities and communities. Keep our communities safe by rejecting ICE and CBP funding and passing legislative guardrails!