“Our message is simple: we’re asking that Congress cut, not increase spending on detention facilities … We need to be the moral voice in calling attention to the abuses of ICE and CBP under Donald Trump.”1
Amen! In case you didn’t already love Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they are amplifying the call to defund hate as Congress negotiates whether to fund Trump’s wall and give even more money to ICE and CBP.
Let’s keep up the momentum and make sure their fellow members of Congress know the Jewish community wants to #DefundHate.
Add your name to our coalition’s demands.
No funding for a racist monument to white nationalism.
No funding for the agencies that separate families.
No funding for the agencies that put children in cages.
No funding for the agencies that terrorize and kill immigrants.
Trump agreed to reopen the government (after creating the longest shut-down in United States history) if Congress would create a “conference committee” to explore funding his wall and the agencies that deport and detain immigrants. That’s happening right now.
We need to say it loud and clear that the answer to “How much more money should we spend on agencies that hold thousands of children in detention camps in the desert?” is zero.
As Jews, our collective story and history tell us that living free of oppression and violence is a human right. And we can see right through Trump’s attempts to scapegoat and dehumanize immigrants and refugees. That’s why Bend the Arc is part of the Defund Hate coalition and is working with our partners at Detention Watch Network, United We Dream, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and others to hold Congress accountable to these demands.
In this state of moral emergency, we are rising up to push Congress to make critical changes to our immigration system.
Add your name to the petition — tell Congress to defund hate.
We worked tirelessly last year to flip the House. Now we’re proud to amplify the demands of progressive champions like Representatives Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, and Omar, and the broader Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Two weeks ago, all but one member of the House voted to denounce white nationalism, and express opposition to its dangerous rhetoric and violent ideology. Now Congress must do more than just denounce hate — they must defund it as well. It’s not enough to withhold funds for the wall — it’s time to cut funding to government agencies that are terrorizing immigrants and refugees too.
Congress’s moral responsibility is clear: Reject white nationalism and the policies that carry out its racist goals.
Help us make sure they hear our demands.
