Rarely do the voices of local NYC faith leaders have the opportunity to make national policy change. In the next ten days, however, as Congress debates funding for the Department of Homeland Security–and with it, the future of ICE–we have a precious window of time to tell our Senators to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that are wreaking havoc among our people and widening zones of lawlessness across our country. To honor the memories of the victims of ICE’s brutality citizens and non citizens alike, please sign on to and circulate this letter and call your Senators today:
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Dear Senator Chuck Schumer & Senator Kirsten Gillibrand,
The commitment to welcoming our new neighbors is a shared tenet of our respective faith traditions and a deeply held value of many New Yorkers. Our traditions command us to treat all with dignity and compassion, while the Statue of Liberty calls us to embrace the tired, poor, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Throughout the country, ICE creates chaos for the purpose of widespread destruction. ICE is attempting to split apart communities through coercion and violence. ICE undertakes raids in our streets and communities, terrorizes our neighbors, and kidnaps community members on the basis of race, language, and other malicious prejudices. ICE has made all of us less safe. In New York City, roving ICE patrols have picked up beloved community members on the streets and in their homes. The consistent presence of ICE in immigration court has led to unjust detentions and caused immigrants to fear pursuing legal pathways to documentation.
As Faith and Community leaders across New York, we call on you to:
Dismantle ICE & stop funding it and its private contractors entirely.
Hold ICE Accountable: disarm them, de-mask them, and demand they stop operating as a
secret police.
Get ICE off our streets and out of our courts and sensitive sites (schools, hospitals and
Houses of Worship).
With the FY26 appropriation bill for DHS being negotiated now, we’re watching closely to ensure you hold strong to protect New York communities. Simple reforms to ICE practice will not adequately address the ways ICE is upending our civic fabric and daily lives. All through our country and in New York, people are standing up to ICE and DHS with moral courage — will the Senator do the same?
Sincerely,
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AMPLIFY YOUR SIGN-ON BY CALLING YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
Call: Senator Gillibrand (212) 688-6262 & Senator Schumer (212) 486-4430
Outside of NY? Visit www.mygovnyc.org to find who represents you.
Script:
“Hi My name is _______________ and I’m one of Senator Gillibrand/Schumer’s constituents living in __________, New York. I’m calling to ask the Senator to stand up and support Immigrant New Yorkers. Defunding ICE doesn’t go far enough, I am calling with three asks:
Dismantle ICE & Stop funding it and its private contractors entirely.
Hold ICE Accountable: disarm them, de-mask them, and let people sue them.
Get ICE off our streets and out of our courts and sensitive sites (schools, hospitals and Houses of Worship).
All through our country and in New York, people are standing up with moral courage — will Senator Gillibrand/Schumer do the same?”
