Letter signed by 46 House members demands accountability for deaths in custody, militarized enforcement, and due process violations
AUSTIN, TEXAS — In a letter, 46 Texas House members are demanding Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz oppose the Department of Homeland Security funding bill unless it is amended to end abusive enforcement practices. The coalition, led by Rep. Linda Garcia, represents nearly a third of the Texas House of Representatives.
The letter comes as ICE enforcement has spiraled into violence across the country. A 5-year-old Minnesota boy, Liam Ramos, remains detained with his father at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas. Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis last week. A medical examiner ruled the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at a Texas detention facility a homicide. Deaths in immigration custody have reached a 20-year high since President Trump's second term began, with at least 53 deaths in ICE and CBP custody.
The letter, led by Rep. Linda Garcia (D-Dallas), documents a pattern of reckless conduct by DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Recent enforcement actions have included indiscriminate detention at immigration courthouses, ICE check-ins, neighborhoods, and even near schools. These tactics destabilize families and erode trust in government, affecting people of all immigration statuses, including United States citizens.
Read the full letter from Texas House Democrats here.
“The Trump administration has turned immigration enforcement into a killing spree,” said Rep. Linda Garcia. "Deaths in immigration custody have hit a twenty-year high since President Trump's second term began. This state-sponsored violence is a crisis — Senators Cornyn and Cruz have the power to demand accountability before voting to fund this agency. We are asking them to use it.”
ICE's current tactics break from decades of precedent. Presidents of both parties previously enforced immigration laws without turning American communities into war zones. They used judicial warrants and due process, not militarized tactics with tear gas, pellet guns, and live ammunition against civilians. As of mid-December, ICE held 68,440 individuals in detention. Nearly 75 percent had no criminal convictions.
The letter demands six specific amendments to the DHS funding bill: reduce and restrict DHS funding levels, impose strict limits on use of force by ICE and CBP, require judicial warrants and due process for all detentions, end family detention and prioritize family reunification, mandate independent investigations of all civilian deaths in federal custody, and establish meaningful accountability for misconduct by federal agents.
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu added: “For decades, presidents of both parties managed immigration enforcement without militarizing our neighborhoods or treating civilians as enemy combatants. What we're seeing now, deaths in custody at record highs, families torn apart, tear gas and pellet guns in our communities, is a choice. Senators Cornyn and Cruz can choose to fund this chaos, or they can demand accountability. Texans are watching.”
Texas House Democrats have repeatedly called for accountability from federal agencies and state leadership alike. The DHS funding bill is currently before the Senate with a January 30 deadline.