Eight (Jewish) reasons to defund hate:
- Btzelem Elohim, all people reflect the sacred: No matter where someone came from or how they arrived to the United States, their life is of value and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
- Right to community: Every person has the right to live freely, in community and with their family, without fear of being separated from their loved ones or displaced from their home.
- Opportunity for all: We believe that we all do better when everyone has the opportunity to succeed, which means we believe in investing in strong families and communities by using tax dollars to support critical education, housing, nutrition and health care programs.
- Ending violence against immigrants: ICE and CBP are using their budget to physically, psychologically, and emotionally harm immigrants, including separating parents and children, tear gassing asylum seekers, and deporting parents. The idea of considering funding increases for either is tantamount to rubber stamping this administration’s despicable actions.
- Choose life, not violence. Money is one of the only barriers to Trump’s DHS fully enacting its hate-fueled, anti-immigrant, detention and deportation regime. It’s time to cut off taxpayer dollars to the abusive and deadly immigration enforcement system; the lives of our loved ones and our collective future are at stake. The constant growth of their budget is not inevitable, Congress’s decision to deny ICE’s request for $1 billion in additional detention money in the short term spending bill was the first step in the right direction. Now Congress must take the next step and cut funding to ICE and CBP.
- This is personal. So many of our families include immigrants, refugees, and others escaping antisemitism and violence. Because of our history, we know that authoritarianism looks like, and we call it out today.
- Opposing ICE and CBP’s lies. They actively hide information from the public, and retaliate against anyone who speaks out. We deserve transparent, responsible government.
- Opposing the wall. The wall is a hateful symbol of exclusion that will further militarize border communities, not only with a physical structure but also with increased surveillance technology. Walls are lethal. As of 2017, more than 650 miles have been built across the southern border. These walls have forced people to cross in more remote locations that have extremely harsh environments, placing them at risk for injuries and death. More than 7,000 bodies have been found since the 90s in remote, desert areas of the southern border.
It’s past time to stop wasting taxpayer dollars on the abusive and deadly immigration enforcement system; the lives of our loved ones and our collective future are at stake. We call on our members of Congress to say no and vote against wasting taxpayer dollars on an abusive and deadly immigration enforcement system.