This morning’s letter to my Congressional representatives:
Dear Sen. Merkley, Sen. Wyden, Rep. Hoyle,
I write to you from Eugene, which President Trump has just made clear (in a lie-filled “Truth” Social post) is in his sights as another target for unhinged Federal law-enforcement attacks and repression. I implore you to:
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Vote against ANY funding for DHS that includes any further money for ICE without serious, substantial reforms, starting with (but not limited to!) those outlined by Senator Schumer. I am fully aware that voting against the short-term CR holds the possibility of collateral damage to other services such as TSA. When balanced against the well-documented, continuing, atrocious behavior of ICE (including the blatant murder of US citizens) this is, I feel, an acceptable risk.
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Work to claw back the $75 billion ICE slush fund that was included in the OBBBA last year. This is money that should never have been appropriated, and it is continuing to pay for a burgeoning, unaccountable Gestapo in the US even as I write.
I know that the Democrats are currently in a position of relative impotence in the Congress, but as an Oregonian and Eugenian, I expect you to not become complicit in the ongoing brutality. When the Democrats regain power this fall, I will look to you to lead the quick and decisive reversal of funding for this out-of-control agency.