WASHINGTON, D.C. — Advocacy organizations are raising alarm over congressional approval of a measure that would provide an additional $70 billion for immigration enforcement agencies, while urging lawmakers to reject future efforts to expand the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security.
In a statement released this week, Vera Institute of Justice President and Director Insha Rahman praised Democratic lawmakers who opposed the funding package and called on the Senate to continue resisting measures that would strengthen ICE and Border Patrol.
“We applaud Democratic lawmakers in Congress for standing united in rejecting $70 billion to fund the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, and we urge lawmakers in the Senate to reject any future funding or empowerment of ICE under this administration,” Rahman said.
Rahman also warned that the Senate could soon consider the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, known as CORCA, legislation that supporters say is aimed at combating organized retail theft and supply chain crime.
“Next month we anticipate that ‘CORCA’ (The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act) will get a vote in the Senate, Democrats will need to ask themselves a simple question: why would Congress expand the authority of the Department of Homeland Security at a moment when public trust in DHS, and especially ICE, is collapsing?” Rahman said.
CORCA, introduced as Senate Bill 1404, would establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security and expand federal coordination efforts targeting organized retail theft, cargo theft and related crimes.
Supporters of the measure argue that organized retail crime has become increasingly sophisticated and costly, requiring greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Critics, however, contend that the legislation would expand federal surveillance and immigration enforcement powers beyond its stated purpose.
Rahman described the bill as a threat to consumer privacy and civil liberties.
“CORCA is a trojan horse bill purporting to deal with the very real threat of organized retail theft, but at its core, funnels American consumer data to DHS and empowers ICE,” Rahman said. “We urge Democrats to stand firm in rejecting CORCA, just as they opposed new funds today.”
The criticism was echoed by MomsRising, a national advocacy organization representing more than one million mothers and families, which sharply condemned congressional approval of the immigration enforcement funding package.
In a statement released Monday, MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner called the measure “simply disgraceful.”
“It is simply disgraceful that Republican leaders in both chambers of Congress pushed through a measure that will add $70 billion more to ICE and CPB — two out-of-control federal agencies that are already over-funded and that are routinely violating the constitutional and human rights of people across this country,” Rowe-Finkbeiner said.
“America’s moms are horrified that Congress and the Trump administration are ignoring the care and affordability crises that are undermining the health and wellbeing of millions of families, while instead pumping obscene amounts of our tax dollars into Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection with no constraints. Today’s House vote is truly outrageous.”
Rowe-Finkbeiner said families would prefer federal resources be directed toward health care, child care and affordability initiatives rather than immigration enforcement.
“The country’s moms and families want lawmakers to fund care, not ICE,” she said. “We want guardrails on the reckless, often lawless immigration enforcement that is separating families, putting children in detention, making baseless arrests, and detaining and murdering U.S. citizens.”
She added, “From Minneapolis to Dilley in Texas to Delaney Hall in New Jersey, and in so many other places, we have seen the abuses these agencies are committing. Lawmakers should rein them in, not reward them.”
Rowe-Finkbeiner further argued that immigrant workers play an essential role in the nation’s economy and care infrastructure.
“We want our taxpayer dollars to go to health care and child care, not to fund human rights abuses against immigrants, who power our care workforce, our health care system, and our economy,” she said. “Our nation needs a safe and orderly immigration process that balances compassion and security, not cuts to health care — and certainly not cruelty.”
She concluded by criticizing congressional Republicans and the Trump administration for failing to address rising living costs.
“We expect the lawmakers we elect to cut the cost of groceries, health care, child care, gas, utilities, and more,” Rowe-Finkbeiner said. “Like the Trump administration, Republicans in Congress are letting the country down.”
The debate over the immigration enforcement funding package and the pending CORCA legislation reflects broader national disagreements over immigration policy, government surveillance powers and federal spending priorities. While supporters argue additional resources are needed to address border security and organized crime, opponents contend that Congress is expanding the authority and funding of agencies that already face mounting criticism from immigrant-rights advocates and civil liberties organizations.
The Senate has not yet scheduled a final vote on CORCA, but advocates on both sides are expected to intensify lobbying efforts as the legislation advances.
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