Action Alert: Transform the Department of Homeland Security and provide relief to immigrant families! 

Urge our Senators to strengthen oversight of DHS in its FY2021 Appropriations bill and include Immigrants in the COVID relief bill

All Senators need to hear from their constituents, especially those on the Appropriations Committee. 

The Department of Homeland Security includes the agencies that enforce immigration and customs laws (Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and provide services for immigrants’ legal residence and citizenship United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). UUSJ encourages that these immigration-related agencies, which have aggressively enforced anti-immigrant policies, placed the lives of asylum-seekers at risk, and spent billions on an ineffective border wall, be strictly controlled. DHS must not reprogram funds from other agencies to enforcement activity.

Further, past COVID relief bills have excluded those immigrants without social security numbers and their families, even if they are working in frontline jobs and paying taxes.

We must urge our Senators now to set limits on both funding and policy for DHS enforcement agencies for Fiscal Year 2021, which begins October 1st. Just passing a Continuing Resolution now will simply sustain suffering and uncertainty for thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers. The only leverage that Congress has at this point is appropriations to run the agency. Congress must require DHS to fund programs within the parameters set by Congress. Senators must include immigrant families in the next COVID relief bill. 

Description of the issue

The House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee introduced to the full House a bill (H.R. 7669) covering appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for FY2021, but the House has not yet approved this bill.  Concerns exist about ICE/CBP mismanagement, re-prioritizing contrary to enacted legislation, and the non-transparency for which DHS has become known.  

UUSJ supports all the provisions strengthening oversight currently included in H.R. 7669.  These would, inter alia: (i) prohibit the use of funds beyond the minimum amount appropriated to be used for constructing border barriers, (ii) eliminate most reprogramming authority, (iii) stop ICE from deporting US residents who are willing to accept custody of unaccompanied minors, (iv) ensure Members of Congress can have access to detention facilities, (v) allow migrants access to legal counsel and to be advised of their rights when held in CBP custody.  The current proposed House bill also reduces the FY funding for ICE and CBP below FY2020 enacted levels.  If the US House of Representatives approves DHS appropriations before end of September and passes the legislation on to the Senate, UUSJ recommends you encourage your Senator to include language in the bill that strengthens Congressional oversight of DHS as much as possible.   

Separately, past COVID relief legislation (CARES Act – House/Senate) excluded key provisions important to immigrant communities, including direct cash assistance to filers who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), guaranteed coverage of treatment for all individuals, regardless of immigration status, and an automatic extension for employment authorization documents. At this critical moment, many immigrants are essential workers in health, agriculture and service sectors. The House passed the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800), but the Senate failed to take up the legislation before going on August break.  Urge your Senator to pass the HEROES Act including immigrants in free testing and treatment and stimulus payments to individuals.  Working families are struggling and need the relief this Act can provide.

Why it’s important

DHS has become what some call a “rogue” agency, introducing inhumane policies and practices that ignore US commitments under national and international law to provide asylum-seekers due process. DHS should not detain minors for more than 20 days and must provide adequate conditions for those in detention.  

Detainees have died in DHS custody, including of COVID-19, and tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have been returned to Mexico and refused due process consideration of their claims on any reasonable schedule. Courts have determined that children being held too long by ICE with their family members must be released but the deadline for that has passed and children are still being held.  Thousands of human beings are suffering physically and psychologically from their treatment by DHS enforcement agencies.  There are alternatives to detention that are far more cost-effective, but DHS will not use them. DHS is ignoring information requests from Congressional oversight committees.  The main leverage that Congress has at this point is appropriations to run the agency.  This is where we need to focus our support for constraints and limitations that will begin to transform DHS.

Suggested Talking Points

[It is most effective use your own examples, tell your story, and/or draw on some of these suggested points]

• The Senate should pass the HEROES Act including health and economic aid for immigrant families that were excluded in past relief bills.  Many immigrant workers are essential to health, agriculture, and service sectors and thus are at higher coronavirus risk.  Their health affects everyone’s health.
• The Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agencies need to be transformed into reputable non-politicized organizations that efficiently, professionally, and humanely implement reasonable immigration and customs policies.  ICE and CBP should stop delaying access to asylum-consideration, stop detaining people for migration-related offenses, use effective community-based alternatives to detention, and stop separating children from their families.  
• Expensive and elaborate fences are not appropriate border barriers. Better technology exists that is less costly, does not cause environmental damage nor intrude in private and tribal lands. 
• DHS has shown by its recent actions that Congress needs stronger oversight, more transparency, and better responsiveness to correct identified abuses. The FY21 Appropriations bill for DHS can and should include provisions that achieve this. 
• The Senate should pass an FY2021 DHS appropriations bill with strong oversight provisions in September.  Given mismanagement by DHS, just passing a Continuing Resolution now will mean sustained suffering and uncertainty for thousands of immigrants and asylum-seekers. 

Option 1: Complete the online form on the previous page (or click HERE) to send a message to both Senators. Personalize the message. By filling out the form, your message will be automatically sent to your Senator.

Option 1: Switchboard: 202-224-3121 and you will be connected to your Senator.

Sample Message (Please use your own words)

I’m very concerned about how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) treats immigrants and asylum-seekers. I feel called by my faith, principles, and values as a Unitarian Universalist and supporter of the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice to urge the Senate to approve an FY2021 appropriations bill for DHS which limits funding for ICE and CBP. Any bill should include strong provisions to discourage unnecessary reprogramming of funds away from services, such as moving funds to enforcement, family separation, and border wall construction.

DHS should stay within parameters initially appropriated by Congress, and which encourage humane treatment in detention centers, access of migrants to legal counsel, and access of Congressional staff to facilities. Furthermore, the Senate should approve a new COVID relief bill which includes testing and treatment for all immigrant families as well as stimulus payments that will help these families keep safe lodging and adequate nutrition

I care deeply about these issues. We should not be a country that persecutes people legitimately seeking asylum and other legal pathways to residency and citizenship. We should not be a country that cruelly excludes hard-working families in frontline jobs from access to health testing and treatment and stimulus payments simply because of their citizenship status.