Congress has passed an agreement to fund the government, averting a second government shutdown in the new year. Unfortunately, this bill provides over 1 billion dollars for unnecessary border fencing that the public does not support and increases ICE funding to continue detaining children and families in prison-like settings.
Darcy Tromanhauser, Nebraska Appleseed Immigrants & Communities Program Director, issued the following statement in response:
“Our friends and families have been devastated by this Administration’s brutal immigration policies toward children and families – a majority of whom are longtime residents who contribute enormously to local communities. Ending DACA and TPS, destabilizing communities nationwide with large-scale immigration raids, separating children from their parents, jailing children in cages, and tear-gassing families fleeing violence have caused significant damage to communities across the country.
“Using the threat of a shutdown – with further harmful effects on the well-being of federal workers and countless families – is not the way to lead our nation’s government.
“Our leaders must now turn their attention to addressing our nation’s immediate need for a long-overdue, commonsense solution for Dreamers and their families, individuals with Temporary Protected Status, and other important residents who contribute so much but have no process to apply for citizenship until Congress creates one.
“It is also deeply troubling that the President will move forward with a heavy-handed, dubious plan that undermines Congress and the democratic process by funnelling additional money toward an unproductive, wasteful border wall.”