As Congress Fuels Mass Immigration Detention and Deportation, RCUSA Calls for Investments into Care for Our Communities

Washington, DC – On June 9th, the House passed S.2, the budget reconciliation bill, providing  a supplemental $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sending it to the President’s desk. S.2 enables ICE and CBP to operate through FY 2029. Passed through the reconciliation process, bypassing the debate and bipartisan negotiation that legislation of this magnitude demands, S.2 commits tens of billions of dollars to punitive immigration enforcement and detention while offering no meaningful guardrails around how that money is used, and no standards for the conditions in which people are held.

“The budget reconciliation bill provides a blank check to a largely unaccountable, militarized federal police force. We can expect to see a dangerous escalation of ICE and CBP’s brutal tactics, attacks on citizens and non-citizens, the traumatization of children and separation of families, cruel treatment in immigrant detention facilities, and mass deportation. All of this comes at the expense of community-based programs that support basic human needs,” said John Slocum, Executive Director of Refugee Council USA. 

“Shoveling more money at ICE and CBP without meaningful congressional oversight or any sort of reform is a tragic and deadly mistake. ICE and CBP are already over-funded by last year’s H.R.1, which massively cut funding for food and medical assistance – and, for the first time in the program’s history, eliminated eligibility for refugees to enroll in SNAP, Medicaid, or Medicare upon arrival through the U.S. resettlement program. Congress should reverse course, enact statutory reforms that make us safer, end inhumane and brutal tactics that threaten public safety and people’s lives, and reinvest in basic human needs, like food assistance and medical care. As this administration continues to strip humanitarian and immigrant populations of their status and expand targeting of our undocumented neighbors, it has never been more important for Congress to push for a fully restored refugee and humanitarian programs and pass a pathway to citizenship to permanently protect long-time immigrants.”

The contrast is stark: the same Congress that found $70 billion for enforcement has cut billions from the food and medical assistance that refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrant families depend on to rebuild their lives. While S.2 funds enforcement operations, it provides nothing for the community-based programs, legal services, resettlement support, English instruction, and job placement support that help newcomers contribute to our country. 

Refugee Council USA calls for independent oversight of ICE and CBP, enforceable and robust standards for detention conditions and medical care, accountability for agents who engage in abuse, and an end to enforcement tactics that endanger families and erode trust between immigrant communities and the institutions meant to protect them.

RCUSA urges Congress to turn away from this path and instead return to investing in the safety, dignity, and basic needs of all our communities.

Media Contact: Mariam Sayeed, msayeed@rcusa.org 

RCUSA is a diverse coalition advocating for just and humane laws and policies, and the promotion of dialogue and communication among government, civil society, and those who need protection and welcome. Individual RCUSA members do not all address all refugee-related issues, nor do all individual members approach common refugee-related issues identically.

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