The Leadership Conference Backs Withholding DHS Funding and Demands Civil Rights-Based Reforms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brittany G. Cummings, [email protected]

Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement:

No one ever wants a government shutdown, which is a hardship for many Americans. So, too, is state-sanctioned violence. Senate Minority Leader Schumer and a unified Democratic Caucus rightly demanded we separate DHS funding from other spending. Now, Congress faces a choice: continue funding DHS as it operates with impunity and terrorizes communities, or finally exercise its constitutional responsibility to stop the violation of civil and constitutional rights. The escalating violence and lawlessness carried out in communities by DHS, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is horrific and outrageous and should not be tolerated by anyone – no matter the political party.

The killing of human beings by federal agents in American cities, including the recent killings in Minneapolis, is the foreseeable result of months of unchecked executive overreach and the failure of those in Congress, who hold the gavels, to engage in meaningful oversight. Instead, they wrote a blank check and turned their backs on the real people who have been terrorized by roving bands of masked and abusive federal agents. These abuses go beyond the physical harm to a city and its residents. They include targeting people based on the color of their skin, as well as intimidating those who have the right to observe, document and make demands of ICE agents to uphold our civil and constitutional rights. The abuses also extend to efforts to block state and local leaders and law enforcers from protecting residents. We have witnessed federal agents being used as an invasive force to justify meddling in state and local election administration. The DOJ is being weaponized to seize voter data to engage in voter suppression.

All communities deserve to have their civil and human rights protected, knowing their representatives will ensure those rights are made real and are enforced, while holding those who violate them accountable.

We will not be silent as we watch our communities terrorized. We will continue to mobilize and bring the full weight of our coalition to demand accountability, protect voting rights, and advance civil rights–based solutions. Congress has the power to stop this. We will continue to fight DHS funding and demand accountability. Our coalition is watching. History is watching. We urge Congress to stop the funding, demand accountability, and choose justice.

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