U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the 50 million students they serve, we strongly urge you to VOTE NO on the Secure America Act (S. 2) that provides $70 billion to escalate violent immigration enforcement. Votes on this issue may be included in NEA’s report card for the 119th Congress.
The reconciliation bill fails to reflect the realities that are crushing America’s workforce, straining our public schools, and forcing families to do more with less. A gallon of gasoline costs 50 percent more than it did before the Iran war. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs are ruining farmers, driving up food prices, and making groceries unaffordable. Families with young children are being detained illegally, in squalid conditions.
The consequences of this approach are clear, and they are unacceptable. Students are sitting in classrooms fearful that their families could be torn apart, parents are disengaging from school events due to safety concerns, and communities are being destabilized—conditions incompatible with learning.
NEA has consistently raised alarms about overly aggressive immigration enforcement, especially on or near school grounds and in surrounding communities. Providing even more no-strings-attached funding for ICE and Border Patrol would merely intensify the harm already done.
Your vote on this issue is a defining choice. Increasing support for ICE and Border Patrol without meaningful reforms will continue to inflict harm on our children, our communities, and our public education system.
Please VOTE NO on the FY26 budget reconciliation.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Johnson Trinca
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
