Global Refuge on Enactment of $70 Billion Immigration Enforcement Funding Bill

Washington, D.C. — Global Refuge is deeply troubled by the enactment of a new immigration enforcement funding bill, directing an additional $70 billion to immigration enforcement agencies through the end of the current administration. The following is a statement from Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge:

“This is a disappointing day. Congress committed $70 billion through an immigration enforcement funding bill without including a single meaningful guardrail. Policymakers have essentially insulated these agencies from accountability for three years, despite a troubling rise in deaths in ICE custody and credible accounts of neglect, abuse, and inhumane conditions.”

“Expanding detention this fast, with this little scrutiny, invites exactly the kind of harm we’ve already seen growing. If past is prologue, this supercharged dragnet is not likely to be limited to violent offenders. When funding is scaled to this unprecedented degree without accountability measures, it is longtime residents, children, people with legal status, and even U.S. citizens who bear the brunt of the consequences.”

“In contrast, the courts have done their constitutional duty time and time again, insisting that the government follow its own laws and refusing to let protections be cast aside without due process. Congress holds both the power of the purse and the duty of oversight, and today it did the opposite, writing a $70 billion check and walking away from any responsibility for how it is spent.”

“That abdication does not have to be the last word. We call on legislators to use every remaining tool at their disposal to demand transparency on how these dollars are spent and to ensure no one in government custody is stripped of their basic dignity and safety.”

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About Global Refuge:
Global Refuge, formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, is the largest faith-based nonprofit dedicated exclusively to serving refugee children and families. For 85 years, we have welcomed those seeking refuge, upholding a legacy of compassion and grace for people in crisis. We walk alongside individuals, families, and children as they begin their new lives in the United States through our work in refugee resettlement, economic empowerment and employment, and family unification for unaccompanied children. Since our founding in 1939, we have served over 800,000 people from around the globe.