Bloody Week Triggers National Revolt Against ICE Funding
They are zip-tying children and dragging people from cars. Now, a coalition representing millions of Americans is telling Congress: Enough is enough. Read the letter that could shut down DHS.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a powerful ultimatum delivered to Capitol Hill today, a massive coalition of over 100 civil rights and human rights organizations demanded that Congress immediately halt all funding increases for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The letter, led by groups including the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center, comes as the nation reels from a week of “lawlessness” that saw federal agents kill a mother of three in Minneapolis and gun down two others in Portland.
A Week of Unleashed Violence
The coalition’s demand follows the January 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and widow of a military veteran, who was shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis while dropping her child off at school. Just twenty-four hours later, federal agents in Portland, Oregon, opened fire on a vehicle outside a hospital, wounding two people.
While DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has characterized the Minneapolis shooting as a response to “domestic terrorism,” bystander video and local officials tell a different story. Video evidence shows agents approaching Good’s vehicle before opening fire at close range as she attempted to pull forward.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has labeled the administration’s response a “sordid tale of DHS deception and propaganda,” noting that video evidence directly refutes the Secretary’s claims.
The Demands: “Enough is Enough”
The coalition letter presents a stark choice for lawmakers as they debate the FY2026 appropriations bill, which currently seeks billions to expand detention capacity to 50,000 beds and fuel a “mass removal campaign” of one million people per year.
The organizations are calling on Congress to:
Refuse any funding increases for ICE or Border Patrol in the FY2026 budget.
Halt all DHS funding after January 30 unless the agency agrees to strict accountability measures.
End Border Patrol deployments to American cities and restrict “dragnet” arrest operations that target people based on race, language, or accent.
“Masked federal agents, equipped for war, are dragging people from their cars, zip-tying children... and pointing guns at peaceful observers,” the letter states. “This is not the America we deserve.”
A System of Impunity
The push for a funding freeze is fueled by a year of unprecedented tragedy within the federal detention system. According to the coalition, 2025 was the deadliest year on record for those in custody, with 32 people dying while under DHS supervision.
Senator Blumenthal’s office is currently investigating the “rapid expansion” of the force—noting that 12,000 agents were hired in less than a year—and questioning if speed was prioritized over safety and training.
“Congress enabled DHS to become what it is today: a dangerous agency operating with impunity,” the coalition wrote, urging lawmakers to use their “Article I power” to rein in the violence.
ICE is trump’s insurance against a nationwide insurrection. Immigration is just an admittedly brutal side job….
This is good news. This corruption within in this dept. Is through the roof! I am so angry my tax dollars are being used on this abomination going on where our friends and families are being terrorized! BS