Republicans in Congress are pushing funding bills that would expand and empower U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without the reforms and accountability our communities need. Across the country, ICE operations are tearing families apart, traumatizing children, and creating fear that reaches into schools, hospitals and workplaces. AFT members see the consequences every day: Students are afraid to come to school. Families are afraid to seek medical care. Communities are living in fear. This doesn’t make us safer; it weakens trust and harms the very institutions that hold our communities together.
Congress has the power and responsibility to act. As lawmakers negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security, they must not give ICE a blank check. Any funding must include strong guardrails to restrict abusive practices, restrain unchecked enforcement, and reform the agency to ensure transparency, accountability and respect for human rights. Again, AFT members are witnessing the impact of ICE’s actions firsthand: Educators are supporting students living in fear. Healthcare workers are caring for patients afraid to seek treatment. Public service professionals are serving communities destabilized by enforcement actions. Our members cannot do their jobs effectively when fear and trauma are driving families into the shadows.
ICE is operating without sufficient transparency, accountability or respect for due process. Communities are being destabilized, and public trust is being eroded. Congress must act now to protect our communities by restricting, restraining and reforming ICE.
AFT members are calling on Congress to:
- Restrict enforcement practices that tear families apart and traumatize children.
- Protect schools, hospitals and public spaces so people can learn, work and seek care without fear.
- Reform ICE to ensure due process and respect for constitutional and human rights.
- Ensure any DHS funding includes de-escalation training, strong guardrails, transparency and meaningful accountability.
Our communities cannot thrive under fear. AFT members believe every family deserves safety, dignity and respect. Congress must act now to restrict, restrain and reform ICE and protect the communities we serve.