Washington, DC — Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2023 fiscal year spending bill, that includes approximately $8.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and $15.7 billion for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will head to the full Appropriations committee for markup.
The Defund Hate Coalition issued the following statement about the proposed budget:
“When we organize together under the demand to defund ICE and CBP, we can achieve major victories. This proposed DHS bill matches the president’s request to fund an average daily population of 25,000 people in immigration detention, the lowest it’s been in nearly two decades and a provision we urge members to fight for in the final bill. While we celebrate a reduction in ICE’s enforcement budget and the possibility that more people will be able to navigate their immigration cases in community, Congress’ proposal reveals its intent to sustain an enforcement-centered response to migration and weaponize technology with major increases to ICE and CBP’s surveillance programming instead of making the investments communities need in this moment. The Defund Hate campaign demands Congress defund enforcement and incarceration in all forms, digital and physical.
The Defund Hate campaign is alarmed by the continued overinvestment in these agencies and demands cuts to these priority areas:
- ICE Custody Operations
- ICE “Alternatives” to Detention
- U.S. Border Patrol personnel
- Invasive border surveillance technologies
- Full rescission of previously appropriated border wall funding
No amount of funding and staffing increases can fix a fundamentally inhumane immigration enforcement system operated by agencies that have repeatedly shown to systemically disregard the dignity, health, and safety of people.”
