Washington, D.C., May 21, 2026: Hundreds of immigrants, working families, faith leaders, healthcare advocates, and community organizations from across the country marched from ICE headquarters to the United States Capitol on Wednesday for the “Fund Care, Not ICE” mobilization, demanding Congress reject $71 billion in funding for immigration enforcement and instead invest in healthcare, food assistance, and working families.
The march culminated in a Capitol press conference co-sponsored by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus featuring Members of Congress including Delia Ramirez, Analilia Mejia, Rashida Tlaib, Greg Casar, and Pramila Jayapal alongside immigrant leaders, impacted individuals, healthcare advocates, and national organizations.
Organizers condemned cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Affordable Care Act funding while dramatically increasing funding for ICE and CBP and delivering tax breaks to wealthy corporations and billionaires.
Speakers emphasized that families across the country are struggling with rising healthcare costs, housing costs, and food prices while Congress stripped millions of healthcare coverage and food assistance to fund mass detention and deportation infrastructure.
Isaias Guerrero, Director of Fight Back for Popular Democracy, said, “At this time, when our families are losing access to healthcare and struggling with the rising cost of utility bills, the Trump administration is pushing another $70 billion in tax money to pay ICE and CBP along with billionaire big tech companies and contractors like Palantir. Instead of funneling billions into companies that help ICE track, detain, and separate families, we should be investing in people that actually need healthcare, strong public school systems, affordable education, and good-paying jobs.”
Kico Matos, President of National Immigrant Law Center, said, “Only Congress can stop Trump’s obsession with mass detention and deportation. They need to use their power and act with courage. There is no justification for handing ICE and CBP $71.6 billion in taxpayer dollars to inflict even more cruelty on immigrant communities while families struggle to afford basic necessities. It’s time for Congress to act responsibly by meeting the real and urgent needs of the people they’re supposed to represent.”
“People of faith are united in walking alongside our community members in danger of deportation,” said Rev. Noel Andersen, Church World Service National Field Director. “This administration’s immoral campaign of chaos and cruelty designed to deport our neighbors has gone too far. No matter someone’s background, each life holds sacred value. We should spend this 71 billion dollars in ways that help not harm people and invest in programs like food security and healthcare to make life better for everyone in our communities. Let us work to unify our communities, not divide them, and return empathy and compassion as the core principle of our immigration policy.”
“ICE and Border Patrol need accountability, not tens of billions more taxpayer dollars,” said Azadeh Erfani, Policy Director at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “Over the past year, they have been responsible for dozens of avoidable deaths in detention centers and in our streets. They target Black and Brown people and violate constitutional rights. They jail and separate families, causing irreparable harm to children. Every member of Congress should oppose this bill and end the cloak of impunity these agencies have enjoyed at the expense of the rule of law.”
“Cutting Bezos’s taxes doesn’t help. Trump doesn’t need a ballroom, billionaires don’t need a tax cut. We need to tax the rich in this country. That’s what we need to do,” said Congressman Greg Casar.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said, “Trump just wants to allow ICE and CBP to continue to terrorize our communities, to kidnap and disappear hundreds of thousands of people and separate over 100,000 children from their parents. That is why instead of giving you healthcare, he wants to give ICE and CBP another $70 billion on top of their $170 billion slush fund that the big betrayal bill gave them last year.”
“It’s shameful that we separated 100,000 children from their immigrant parents. It is shameful that our country continues to fund that,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. “And it’s very clear to me, the American people don’t want Congress to spend billions on Ice and CBP. It is very clear.”
“We are witnessing a level of cruelty that frankly has no words,” said Congresswoman Analilia Mejia. “They say that they’re only attacking those who are criminals… But the only criminals I see are those criminals who break the Constitution, who harm the American people, who turn their guns against us.”
“We have to melt ICE. Frankly, we need to abolish ICE immediately” said Congresswoman Delia Ramirez. “We need to end DHS’s immigration detention where over 6,000 children are sitting in detention right now, where mothers have been separated from their families, where people are working from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM so corporations who are profiting with these for-profit detention centers can make more money. And we say enough is enough.”
We are CASA members, Raimundo Pifas said, “Why do they want to divide us? We ask Congress: do not allocate another dollar to ICE or CBP during the reconciliation process. No more funding to ICE this year. No more dollars.”
Organizers and speakers also highlighted the deadly conditions inside immigration detention facilities. Since President Trump took office, at least 49 people have died in ICE custody due to medical neglect, abuse, and dangerous conditions inside detention centers, according to advocates and immigration organizations.
The mobilization was organized by Popular Democracy, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigrant Justice Center, Fair Immigration Reform Movement, Detention Watch Network, Church World Service, Indivisible, Families Over Billionaires, We are CASA, MoveOn, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Coalition for Human Needs, and dozens of additional national and grassroots organizations.
LIVESTREAM LINK: https://www.facebook.com/events/2763090704071826