How to Rein in ICE–NOW

QUICK OVERVIEW:

• The Trump regime is terrorizing our communities with brutal immigration enforcement campaigns designed to test the limits of executive power and the nation’s willingness to stand up against Trump’s power grab. Masked federal agents are teargassing babies and pastors, kidnapping our neighbors and shipping them off to foreign torture prisons, and killing innocent people. This pattern of unchecked violence and abuse by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Border Patrol, and other federal law enforcement agencies must end.
• Congress has the opportunity and the responsibility to rein in this lawlessness and stop funneling our taxpayer dollars toward these attacks on our families and our liberties. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs out on January 30, and Congress is actively considering a new funding bill. Putting restrictions on ICE and cutting off its slush funds in the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum every Member of Congress should support.
• The DHS funding bill released on January 20th does not meet these demands, and all Members should oppose it. Democrats cannot claim to be reestablishing Congress’ power of the purse and holding the Trump regime accountable while simultaneously allowing Republicans to manipulate spending levels to obscure how much ICE’s budget has exploded, and failing to impose sufficient reforms to rein in ICE’s lawlessness. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly plans to oppose the bill, but neither he nor Sen. Chuck Schumer are publicly whipping Democrats to unify in opposition. [last updated 1/21/26]
• But Congress won’t act unless we demand it. Congressman Maxwell Frost and the House Progressive Caucus, Senators like Chris Murphy and Alex Padilla, and a handful of other Democrats have drawn redlines for reining in ICE in the DHS bill and been vocal about rallying their colleagues to do the same, but Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are so far refusing to unify their caucuses to fight. This is unacceptable.

READY TO TAKE ACTION NOW?

If you’re ready to take action already and don’t need any more background, here are quick links to the tools you can use to contact your Members of Congress and demand they rein in ICE. Otherwise, read on for everything you need to know about this fight and how you can take action.

• Call both your senators
• Email your senators
• Plan advocacy visits to your Senators’ district offices and other local actions for the week of January 16-25 while the Senate is in recess

All actions under this banner are nonviolent and lawful, community-led, and grounded in moral witness, public accountability, and collective care. 

THE WONKY DETAILS

THE PROBLEM

• On January 7, Renee Good was killed by ICE in Minnesota–but she wasn’t the first; thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year. ICE and Border Patrol are storming our streets and harassing and detaining people without due process based on the color of their skin, their language or accent, or where they live. This crackdown has been especially aggressive in Democratic states and sanctuary cities that have chosen to welcome immigrants, directly attacking local values, governance, and resistance.
• Trump has publicly threatened to escalate these attacks and deploy troops in Minnesota to quell protests by invoking the rarely-used Insurrection Act of 1807. This law allows the president to deploy U.S. military forces inside the country to suppress unrest, override state authority, and use troops in domestic law enforcement operations for which they are not trained. Americans want health care, affordability, and safe communities–not a blank check for the president to deploy troops in the streets. You can learn more in our Insurrection Act explainer.
• Let’s be clear: Trump’s immigration agenda isn’t about public safety but about racial suppression and political control. It’s grounded in a white supremacist vision of America—one where power is easier to hold when society is more homogenous, and those who don’t “belong” are either silenced, deported, or too afraid to exist freely. This moment is an opportunity to demand accountability for ICE and crystallize the growing public opposition to MAGA’s extreme and deadly anti-immigration agenda.

THE SOLUTION

• Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate–but funding bills (called “appropriations”) must clear 60 votes in the Senate to proceed, so Democrats have real leverage in this fight. Congress is currently negotiating appropriations ahead of the next shutdown deadline on January 30, when funding will run out for DHS and other agencies like the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Education.
• Unfortunately, Senate Democrats have abdicated that key leverage on funding twice now since Trump returned to power: handing Trump and Elon Musk a blank check in March 2025 that included hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for ICE, and caving in the shutdown fight in November to support a deal that did nothing to address the Republican-caused healthcare crisis. Additionally, Trump’s Big Ugly Bill cut Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and other crucial programs in order to funnel $170 billion to powering his mass deportation machine, including tripling ICE’s annual budget. Yet many Democrats in Congress still appear more concerned about being seen as “too soft” on immigration than they are about using their power to stop families being ripped apart and communities being terrorized by Trump’s brutal secret police on our dime.
• That’s why Congress needs to hear from us now–no funding without reforms. Putting restrictions on ICE funding and cutting off its slush funds is the bare minimum every Member of Congress must support.
  • We need to light a fire under Democrats to demand they use their leverage on the DHS appropriations bill to rein in ICE and deny the Trump regime one penny more for its mass deportation machine. Leaders Schumer and Jeffries must clearly and publicly draw these redlines for Democrats’ support and actually keep their caucuses unified this time.
  • And, while most Republicans continue to rubberstamp Trump’s atrocities, some are becoming bolder in criticizing ICE’s lawlessness and pattern of shredding constitutional protections. The louder we are and the more we organize our communities to take action, the harder it will be for Republicans to continue backing Trump’s terror campaign.

Democrats need to stop whining about the limits of minority power and start fighting as hard as their constituents are to stop this regime’s mounting atrocities. We’re not accepting excuses, and we will hold every Member of Congress accountable who chooses complicity and cowardice over courage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Doesn’t ICE already have a ton of money? 

Yes, ICE’s budget exploded under Trump’s Big Ugly Bill, so the agency will still be flush with cash to keep operating even if Congress does not pass a new funding bill before current funding expires on January 30. That means that limiting new money is not enough, we need enforceable restrictions.

Aren’t other things also funded by DHS? Why should we risk those programs?

Yes, agencies like FEMA and TSA are both funded by the DHS appropriations bill.

Isn’t this just asking for another government shutdown? Why should we reach out when Democrats already folded in the last two big appropriations fights?

We know a shutdown would be enormously disruptive; so is ICE’s terror campaign in our communities.

What happens if just DHS shuts down? Does that stop ICE and Border Patrol from operation?

Unfortunately, no, that’s not how it would work.

OUR DEMANDS

Renee Good’s killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity, and abuse carried out by federal immigration enforcement agencies against our communities.

Congress must refuse to fund ICE and Border Patrol without serious reforms. Every MoC should publicly oppose the DHS appropriations bill unless it:

• Strengthens restrictions on ICE and Border Patrol’s ability to conduct dragnet arrest operations and target people based on their race, language or accent, place of employment, or location at the time of the apprehension. These agencies have secretively created a mass surveillance apparatus that uses dragnet techniques to forcibly collect and track biometric data on American citizens and immigrants alike without any legislative, judicial, or public oversight.
• Ends Border Patrol deployment to our cities and rejects its ever-expanding mandate in immigration enforcement. Trump’s DHS has been deploying Border Patrol in complex immigration enforcement campaigns in cities far from any border, harassing communities and refusing to communicate with local law enforcement. Trump treats Greg Bovino, the “Commander At Large,” like his personal secret police chief.
• Limits DHS’s reprogramming and transfer authority, including specifically preventing reprogramming and transferring funds for detention. This prohibits DHS from continuing to move money around to fuel ICE and Border Patrol lawlessness. We can’t trust that funds meant to be used for routine work like customs paperwork won’t be reallocated for dangerous detention centers or weapons of war used on our communities.
• Denies the Trump regime’s demands for increased DHS funding. ICE alone already has a budget bigger than most countries’ militaries. No reforms, as necessary as they are, could justify funneling even more taxpayer dollars to Trump’s secret police and mass deportation machine.

We can’t wait around while ICE harms more people. Indivisible and our coalition partners demand that Congress must write a DHS appropriations bill that puts serious restrictions on ICE, ends its dragnet raids, and doesn’t add a penny to its already bloated budget.

OUR MESSAGE

▶️ We are outraged by the killing of Renee Good by ICE. She was a 37-year-old wife and mother of three children who loved to sing and studied creative writing and she was shot in the face by an ICE agent. We grieve her death and the deaths of all those killed in ICE detention.

▶️ ICE has been escalating its cruel deployments into our communities. This recent killing is not an isolated incident, but the devastating and predictable result of ICE’s lawless operations and President Trump’s abuse of power.

▶️ We demand accountability and not one penny more for ICE. Congress must reject funding increases in the DHS appropriations bill and rein in ICE and Border Patrol.

We will meet ICE’s violence with steadfast nonviolence and lawful protest. We won’t stand for our neighbors being terrorized with our taxpayer dollars.

Congress MUST demand an end to this lawless violence, and withhold their votes from any legislation that would add to ICE’s already massive budget.

From January 16-25, the Senate will be in recess–a critical part of the legislative calendar when Members of Congress return to their home districts and states to host town halls, meet with constituents, and be responsive to the people who elected them. This Senate recess means the week of January 16-25 is the perfect time for advocacy visits to your Senators’ district offices and other local actions to make it impossible for them to ignore their constituents’ demands for accountability.

What else can you do?

• Honor and humanize the lives taken by ICE.
• Demand accountability, transparency, and immediate investigation into the killing of Renee Good–including that the FBI release all related records to and cooperate with Minnesota local authorities. We need an independent investigation.
• Expose the broader pattern of ICE violence–including the 30+ lives lost in ICE detention in 2025.
• Call for ICE to leave our communities.
• Build public pressure on elected officials and federal agencies.
• Create space for grief, solidarity, and collective action.
• Join local mutual aid efforts, sign up for grocery deliveries, or find other ways to help your neighbors.
• Strengthen local connections and neighborhood response systems.
• Support organizations working on the ground in Minnesota right now, including:
  • Immigrant Defense Network
  • Unidos MN
  • Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

What can state local elected leaders do?

Each jurisdiction has their own laws, governing structures, and local needs. Please follow the lead of immigrant rights organizations leading on the ground locally, and tailor these to your own context. 

• Prepare your states and cities now for potential DHS enforcement operations in the future. Have a rapid response plan in place, and conduct Know Your Rights trainings with community members and leaders.
• Make sure your police departments know they are there to protect residents, not work with ICE to brutalize them. Ban the masks.
• Pause evictions. Ramp up meals programs. Ensure people’s basic needs can be met.
• Train schools and teachers so they are ready.
• Prepare to run your own investigations of ICE abuses, and hold agents who break the law accountable. Videotape your own evidence so the FBI cannot run a cover-up for another ICE killing in your city. Ensure you know the limits of your legal authorities, and be prepared to maximize them.