Your advocacy is making a real difference, friend.

Thanks to your calls and emails, lawmakers in the U.S. Senate refused to pass a massive Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that would have sent an additional $10 billion to ICE and Border Patrol without any accountability for armed intimidation and unchecked violence.

This comes on the heels of the tragic shooting deaths and continued violence in communities nationwide. We couldn’t have gotten to this important moment without your support, friend — so thank you. 

But the fight isn’t over. The Senate still has to negotiate reforms to prevent ICE’s unchecked violence from continuing. It’s urgent that we keep raising our voices to ensure senators don’t back down! 

Bottom line: We cannot allow ICE’s armed intimidation and violence to continue. Accountability measures must be put in place.

Friend — please send an urgent message to lawmakers and demand they REFUSE to vote for funding to ICE without meaningful limits and accountability. Lawmakers clearly listen when advocates like you speak out!

While we stopped the $10 billion ICE funding for now, we need to keep the pressure on. Because if not, armed intimidation and violence will continue unchecked — and everyone will continue to be at risk. 

We’ve already seen the devastation ICE has brought to communities, especially immigrant and migrant communities, nationwide. In recent weeks and months, there have been dozens of instances of agents firing weapons and detaining bystanders and peaceful protesters at gunpoint. 

Worse, the Trump administration has publicly suggested that ICE agents operate with “absolute immunity,” sending a dangerous message that there are NO consequences for misconduct.

ENOUGH. ICE should not get another dime until real reforms and accountability measures are put in place to stop more deaths. Please join us in making your voice heard again today, friend. Our communities will be safer because of it.

In solidarity,

Kris Brown

Brady President

GOOD NEWS: More Gun Violence Prevention Funding

Over the last year, Brady’s federal policy team has advocated for adequate funding for critical agencies and initiatives that reduce gun violence, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), community violence intervention (CVI) programs, and more. And that work just paid off. 

The recently passed appropriations package includes $50 million for the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, $93 million in additional funding for CVI programs nationwide, and maintains funding for the critical federal agencies that investigate and prevent gun violence! 

The bill which funds the Department of Health and Human Services, which is still awaiting a final vote next week, also includes $25 million for gun violence research at the CDC and NIH. 

Together, these funds will invest in a community-first, public health approach and help ensure gun industry accountability, both of which are proven to reduce firearm homicide and gun trafficking that primarily impacts Black and Brown communities nationwide.

Brady’s policy team also helped STOP dozens of harmful additions to the bill that would have deregulated ghost guns, prohibited federal funds for extreme risk protection orders — tools to temporarily remove firearms from a person in crisis — and forced states to allow the concealed carrying of firearms from out-of-state residents.

This was an important victory for gun violence prevention. Our federal policy team at Brady will continue to fight for solutions to end the gun violence epidemic in our country. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help. Consider supporting our team’s work with a gift today.

Celebrating Black History Month

Tomorrow marks the first day of Black History Month — a time to honor the contributions and reflect on the experiences of Black individuals and communities in the United States. Throughout the month, we will highlight Black leaders, survivors, activists, elected officials, and others who have fought to prevent gun violence in America — including using their voices to draw attention to the effects of gun violence on Black and Brown communities.

Gun violence is a racial justice issue. The communities most impacted are disproportionately Black and Brown, and too often, they are expected to solve the gun violence crisis on their own while facing over-policing and over-incarceration, while members of the predominantly white gun industry continue to funnel guns onto the streets with little to no consequence.

That’s why at Brady, our Combating Crime Guns program uses a supply-side approach to stop the flow of illegal firearms, helping shift the burden of preventing gun violence off of communities most impacted and onto the gun industry that fuels the violence. We have also been honored to work with partners, like our friends at Community Justice Action Fund, and community-based groups that have helped implement solutions that have led to historic lows in gun violence in 2024 and 2025. 

So today, in honor of the beginning of Black History Month, we invite you to learn more about crime guns and how we can address the systemic issue of the gun violence epidemic by listening to our podcast, “Crime Guns 101.”

Remembering Hadiya Pendleton

Thirteen years ago, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in a Chicago park. Just one week before her death, Hadiya performed with her high school majorette squad at President Obama’s second inaugural parade. Her life, like far too many others, was cut short by gun violence.

In the wake of Hadiya’s death, her friends encouraged others to wear orange as a symbol of solidarity and to raise awareness about gun violence. Since then, advocates and organizations dedicated to preventing gun violence have embraced orange as the official color of gun violence awareness.

Today, in honor of Hadiya, we ask you to share her story on socials. In Hadiya’s honor, we continue to call for a country where all Americans are free from the fear of gun violence.

Brady Responds to ICE Officer’s Fatal Shooting of Minneapolis Resident, Brady

A Year of Trump Has Stretched the ATF to Its Limits, The Trace

Kansas Stand Your Ground Law Also Should Stand Trial as C.J. Lofton Civil Suit Returns to Court, Kansas Reflector

When Shootings Are Caught on Video, Survivors Relive the Trauma — and Most of Us Don’t Know How to Help, Kris Brown’s Substack

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Thank you for supporting Brady and our work to prevent gun violence and save lives. We rely heavily on the generosity of activists like you to fund our work to create a safer America. If you’re in this fight, please join Brady today by making a gift.