FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@freedomforimmigrants.org
Washington, D.C.—Today, September 12th, over a hundred immigrant rights advocates from across the country are heading to Capitol Hill for a National Day of Advocacy, demanding members of Congress cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in upcoming budget negotiations. Communities with the Defund Hate Campaign are meeting with over 40 congressional offices virtually, in their home districts, and D.C. with a simple demand: divest from abusive, deadly, anti-Black and brown immigration enforcement agencies and redirect billions of dollars to the well-being of all communities.
They will rally today at the intersection of 1st and Independence at 2:00 pm EST.
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION DETAILS
WHO: The Defund Hate Coalition, orgs and advocates dedicated to defunding ICE & CBP
WHAT: Rally following all-day meetings to demand that Congress cut ICE and CBP budgets
WHEN: Monday, September 12, 2022, at 2:00 pm EST
WHERE: Intersection of 1st and Independence by the Cannon Building
RALLY SPEAKERS:
Nilson Barahona, Founder of the ICE Breakers, formerly incarcerated at Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia and lead in the documentary The Facility
Christina Zaldivar, an organizer with #Not1More Deportation, a project of the American Friends Service Committee Colorado
Immigrant youth leaders from United We Dream
BACKGROUND
For decades, Congress has promised to pass legislation that helps immigrants, but year after year, they have passed budgets that fuel detention and deportation and systematically tear families and communities apart. In March, Congress passed a federal spending bill that surpassed Trump-level immigration enforcement spending and collectively funded ICE and CBP at over $23 billion dollars. During this appropriations cycle, Congress has an opportunity to repair some of the harm and violence CBP and ICE have inflicted on migrant and immigrant communities.
The Presidential, House, and Senate budget proposals for this fiscal year include a 26 percent reduction in detention beds, indicating that communities are successfully making the case to abolish immigration detention. However and alarmingly, the budget proposals still increase funding for surveillance technology and border militarization. Congress has a duty to meet the needs of families and communities, including healthcare, housing, and education. Divesting from ICE and CBP can make this possible.
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The Defund Hate Campaign is led by a coalition of organizations that represent directly impacted immigrant communities, faith leaders, and civil and immigrant rights advocates. We are committed to divestment from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agencies that tear apart loved ones and harm our communities. Instead, we want our tax dollars used to strengthen our families and communities. The coalition unites communities across the country to demand that Congress cut funding for ICE and CBP and instead invest our tax dollars in health care, education, and other vital programs that benefit all of us.