Dear John,

For years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have separated families, abused people in detention, and allowed hundreds of immigrants to die in their custody. But in recent months, states have taken steps to stop these abusive agencies—thanks to organizing and advocacy by grassroots activists.

Now it’s time for the federal government to follow suit. Tell Congress: Defund ICE and CBP!

In New Jersey, AFSC has supported immigrant-led efforts to end detention and deportations. Through actions, community organizing, and legal advocacy, our efforts helped to significantly reduce the number of immigrants in detention and led a county jail to end its relationship with ICE. We also moved the state legislature to pass a bill that prohibits new detention centers (as well as the renewal or extension of detention contracts) and to provide public funding for legal representation of those who remain in detention.

In Colorado, immigrant leaders have successfully lobbied the legislature to create a fund for immigrant legal defense and to remove anti-immigrant restrictions on obtaining professional licenses and housing, among other major wins this year.

These victories demonstrate how powerful it can be when communities come together to stand up for human rights and stop abusive immigration enforcement.

But while state and local governments have taken positive steps, our federal government continues to perpetuate cruelty against immigrants—with our taxpayer dollars. The Biden administration is asking Congress for funding to detain 30,000 people per day in immigration jails. That’s double the number of people who were in detention when the president started his term—and thousands more than the number of people currently in detention.

With our members of Congress now working on spending bills, it’s urgent that we send them a message today.

Tell Congress: Stop writing a blank check to agencies that waste taxpayer dollars and undermine our values—and instead invest in our communities!

In peace,

Tori Bateman
AFSC Policy Advocacy Coordinator

P.S. To learn more about grassroots successes in stopping ICE and CBP, join us Wednesday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. PT for our webinar “Breaking open cages, from the ground up: Spotlighting local campaigns to end detention.”