FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2019
CONTACT: Elliot Levy, [email protected], 202-800-7409
BEND THE ARC: HOUSE DHS FUNDING BILL ENABLES TRUMP’S ASSAULT ON IMMIGRANTS & DEMOCRACY
New York – Following the House’s passage today of a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that continues to fund Trump’s immoral border wall and mass immigrant detention, Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, released the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that Congress failed to use its ‘power of the purse’ to restrict President Trump's transfer authority by passing a DHS budget that will allow him to continue moving money around to fund his immoral, racist wall and terrorize immigrant communities with detention and deportation. Jewish Americans are deeply opposed to Trump’s cruel assaults on immigrants, and on the rule of law, which this budget sadly enables.
“We are grateful for the leadership of directly impacted immigrant communities and to the thousands of Jewish activists across the country who are fighting these anti-immigrant policies, as well as to the 75 House Democrats who took a hard vote today and rejected a bill that did not meaningfully reign in Trump’s detention and deportation machine.
“Thanks to the hard work of activists, our partners in the Defund Hate coalition, and our champions on the Hill, the conversation around this year’s DHS funding wasn’t just defined by Trump’s priorities, but also by ours: reducing the amount of taxpayer dollars our government spends to separate and detain immigrant families, holding ICE and CBP accountable for inhumane conditions, and stopping the administration from raiding the funds of other programs, like FEMA, to expand their cruelty. We are proud that the number of Representatives who answered our call and voted to Defund Hate doubled since February.
“Our Jewish community remains in solidarity with our immigrant movement partners in building an America where everyone is treated with dignity and compassion, no matter what we look like or where we come from.”
