FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: media@vera.org 

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the House passed a reckless federal spending bill that would give more funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to further expand the administration’s violent and lawless detention and deportation efforts. In light of another fatal shooting by federal agents and the abduction of a five-year-old child and his father, senators face growing public pressure in opposition to DHS’s tactics, with many senators having stated their intent to vote against this funding bill.

In defense of due process, family unity, and public safety, advocates are urging senators to ensure the DHS spending bill does not move forward until DHS agents have left our communities, funding for ICE and CBP is cut, policies are put in place to stop the violence and disappearances, and Congress invests in proven solutions to ensure accountability, oversight, and access to legal representation.

Nicole Melaku and Shayna Kessler, co-leaders of the Fairness to Freedom campaign for universal representation, issued the following statements:

Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans: “As ICE and CBP continue to escalate their attacks on both citizens and noncitizens alike, many congressional champions, like Representatives Norma Torres, Robert Garcia, Delia Ramirez, and Pramila Jayapal, have taken a stand from the start in defense of due process. They have called for accountability and oversight of ICE’s unlawful and inhumane tactics and introduced legislation to ensure no one faces detention or deportation without a fair chance to defend their freedom. This is the kind of congressional leadership Americans are calling for in this moment. Our senators must refuse to give another dollar to these reckless, lawless agencies that are undermining public safety, abusing power, and ignoring the rule of law.”

Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice: “Over the past year, the nation has watched in horror as the federal government has unleashed its dangerous, deadly, and unchecked attacks on our communities. Safety for our communities means keeping immigration agents out of our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and courtrooms. It also means keeping public dollars out of ICE, an agency that already has more money than some national militaries, endangers our communities, separates families, and denies people their fair day in court. Senators must stop the DHS funding bill from moving forward until critical changes to oversight and due process protections are made.”

 

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Fairness to Freedom: The Campaign for Universal Representation was launched by the National Partnership for New Americans and the Vera Institute of Justice in April 2022 with a coalition of more than 200 organizations and legal service providers. The campaign’s goal is to support the passage of the Fairness to Freedom Act to establish a federal right to representation for all immigrants facing deportation.