United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the 50 million students they serve, we strongly urge you to VOTE NO on S. Con. Res. 33, the FY2026 budget resolution that prioritizes additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Votes on this issue may be included in NEA’s report card for the 119th Congress.
The consequences of current immigration enforcement practices are already clear—and unacceptable. Students are sitting in classrooms fearful that their families could be torn apart, parents are disengaging from school events out of concern for their safety, and communities are being destabilized. These conditions are incompatible with learning, and expanding enforcement will only deepen the damage.
Increasing funding for ICE and CBP would make schools less safe, heighten traumas, suppress student participation, and undermine educational outcomes. Choosing to expand these programs, despite overwhelming evidence of their harm, is a conscious decision to put a lawless agency ahead of children.
Just last year, Congress provided billions in additional funding to ICE and CBP through reconciliation, without meaningful guardrails, oversight, or accountability. Those funds are already being used to escalate aggressive enforcement, including the detention of families and young children. Doubling down on this approach is indefensible.
NEA has consistently raised alarms about these immigration enforcement practices because they create fear, disrupt learning environments, and harm students’ access to education. Aggressive enforcement actions near schools and in communities undermine the safe, stable conditions that students need to succeed. Increasing funding for ICE and CBP would only intensify the harm, reflecting misplaced national priorities.
As you consider amendments during the Vote-a-Rama, we also urge you to:
- VOTE YES on any that protect public education, SNAP and child nutrition programs, Medicaid and children’s health care, Medicare, or collective bargaining rights.
- VOTE YES on any that make clear Congress holds the power of the purse and that dollars appropriated by Congress cannot be withheld, delayed, or redirected.
- VOTE NO on any that cut or weaken investment in students, educators, or essential services.
- VOTE NO on any that cut public education, SNAP and child nutrition programs, Medicaid and children’s health care, Medicare, or other social services programs.
- VOTE NO on any that undermine undocumented students’ access to K-12 or higher education, including the institutions that serve them.
- VOTE NO on any that further expand ICE or CBP funding or authority.
- VOTE NO on any that enact restrictive voter ID requirements or otherwise interfere with the freedom to vote, including proposals related to the SAVE America Act that create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters; disproportionately harm communities of color or people with disabilities; or undermine a fair, inclusive, and accessible democracy.
- VOTE NO on any that impose burdensome reporting requirements; add new fiscal penalties for states; restrict eligibility for public benefits program funding; or prevent federal agencies from prioritizing access to basic needs like public education, child care, health care, and food assistance.
Your vote on this issue is a defining choice. Increasing funding for ICE and CBP without meaningful reforms will continue to inflict harm on our children, our communities, and our public education system.
Please VOTE NO on the FY2026 budget resolution.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Johnson Trinca
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
