Signers call on Congress to reject any funding deal that will allow a corrupted and abusive Department of Homeland Security to further militarize the border and harm immigrant communities
More than 200 non-governmental and advocacy organizations sent a letter to congressional leadership today in advance of the December 7 expiration of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, calling for bold leadership in support of immigrant communities already suffering under the Trump administration’s bloated immigration enforcement apparatus. Specifically, the letter calls for a short-term continuing resolution that does not increase the DHS budget for fiscal year 2019 during the lame duck session, with a commitment to cut enforcement funds in a permanent spending deal next year.
"Any increase in funding will facilitate family separations, cause irreparable harm to the border region, and incentivize mass detention and deportation—policies that tear apart the fabric of our families and communities," the letter reads. "We cannot treat funding for immigration detention and enforcement or border wall construction like business as usual."
Addressing Leader McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Minority Leader Pelosi, and Democratic Leader Schumer, signatories asked for Congress to pass a “clean” short-term continuing resolution that would extend current spending levels and not add any additional funding to the more than $2 billion already allocated for border militarization and more than $4 billion allocated for detention and enforcement. Furthermore, groups would not support any long-term budget deal without cuts to the DHS budget, with reductions to immigration enforcement, and no increase to allocations for a wall at the southern border.
"Border walls divide communities and tribal nations, cut through sensitive ecosystems, devastate the environment, threaten wildlife, eviscerate the rights of private property owners, cause catastrophic flooding, and contribute to thousands of migrant deaths," advocates emphasize. "The $5.5 billion for border wall contained in the House FY 2019 DHS appropriations bill would cause even more harm," as well as create a virtually bottomless fund from which the Administration could carry out its anti-immigrant policies. "In essence, the billions of dollars earmarked for a wall could quickly become a piggy bank for unilateral administration policies such as jailing children. We have seen ICE abuse its transfer and reprogramming authority by ushering $200 million from other parts of DHS into its detention and removal apparatus."
The letter also calls for "urgently needed oversight of the billions of border wall dollars identified by the Government Accountability Office as lacking cost-benefit and effectiveness analysis."
The full list of signatories is below:
ACLU
Al Otro Lado
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Alianza Americas
Alliance San Diego
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Amnesty International USA
Animal Welfare Institute
Arkansas United Community Coalition
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)
Austin Region Justice for Our Neighbors
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Buffalo Immigrant Leadership Team
Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC, Inc.
CaliforniaHealth+ Advocates
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition
CASA
Causa Oregon
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Community Change
Center for Popular Democracy
Center for Victims of Torture
Central American Legal Assistance
Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA)
Chispa
Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador
Church World Service
CLASP
Coalición de Derechos Humanos
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights - CHIRLA
Coalition on Human Needs
Colibri Center for Human Rights
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
Colorado People's Alliance
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Comunidades Unidas / Communities United
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas
COPAL- Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina
CREDO
Defenders of Wildlife
Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
Democratic Moms of Camarillo
Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee
Detention Watch Network
DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network
Drug Policy Alliance
Earth Care
Earthjustice
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
End Streamline Coalition
Endangered Species Coalition
Environmental Protection Information Center
Erie Neighborhood House
Esperanza Community Housing Corporation
Essex County Community Organization (ECCO)
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)
Faith In Action Bay Area
Faith in Indiana
Faith In New York
Farmworker Justice
First Friends of NJ & NY
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Franciscan Action Network
Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement
Freedom for Immigrants-Chihuahuan Desert
Freedom House Detroit
Friends of Broward Detainees
Frontera de Cristo
Fuerza del Valle
Granite State Organizing Project
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
GreenLatinos
HIAS Pennsylvania
Hispanic Federation
Hope Border Institute/Instituto Fronterizo Esperanza
Human Rights First
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Defense Project
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigration Hub
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda
Indivisible
Indivisible Conejo
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ)
International Institute of the Bay Area
InterReligious Task Force on Central America & Colombia
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Japanese American Citizens League
Jobs With Justice
Junta for Progressive Action
Justice Strategies
Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Kino Border Initiative
Klamath Forest Alliance
LA RED, a program of Faith in Action
La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE)
Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
Latin American Coalition
Latino Policy Forum
League of Conservation Voters
Legal Aid Justice Center
Leo Baeck Temple
Lower Columbia Hispanic Council
Maine People's Alliance
Make the Road Connecticut
Make the Road Nevada
Make the Road New Jersey
Make the Road NY
Make the Road Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Mi Familia Vota
Michigan United
Migrant Center for Human Rights
Migrant Justice / Justicia Migrante
Missouri Faith Voices
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Employment Law Project
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH)
National Juvenile Justice Network
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
National Partnership for New Americans
National Wildlife Refuge Association
Nebraska Appleseed
Nevada Paralegal Center LLC
New Energy Economy
New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrant Rights
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center
New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light
New York Immigration Coalition
NM Comunidades en Acción y de Fe (CAFe)
North County Immigration Task Force
Northern Jaguar Project
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
NY4WHALES
Ohio Immigrant Alliance
OneAmerica
Our Family Coalition
Our Revolution New Mexico & Frack Free Four Corners
OutFront Minnesota
Pangea Legal Services
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
People's Action
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste
Political Asylum Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project
Progressive Leadership Alliance for Nevada
Promise Arizona
Quixote Center
Rachel's Network
Reformed Church of Highland Park
Rio Grande International Study Center
Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network
Rio Grande Valley Unofficial Coalition
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN)
Sierra Club
Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of New York
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas - Institute Leadership Team
Somos Un Pueblo Unido
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
South Texas Human Rights Center
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
Southern Border Communities Coalition
Southern California immigration Project
Southern Poverty Law Center
Southwest Environmental Center
St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA)
St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, Tucson
Stand Up America
Sunflower Community Action
Tahirih Justice Center
Taos Immigrant Allies
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Texas Organizing Project
Thai Community Development Center
The Green Valley/Sahuarita Samaritans
The New York Immigration Coalition
The Resurrection Project
The Shared Earth Foundation
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
Together Colorado, Member of Faith in Action
Transformations CDC
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
UndocuBlack Network
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
United for a Fair Economy, UFE
United We Dream
UnLocal, Inc.
URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity
Vermont Interfaith Action
Voces de la Frontera
Voices for Progress
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
Wilco Family Justice Alliance (Williamson County, TX)
Wildlands Network
Wind of the Spirit, Immigrant Resource Center
Workers Defense Project