Rep. Veronica Escobar

Although the Trump administration reversed its decision to make its harmful cuts to behavioral and mental health funding, it did a lot of damage in the process.

I just had a great meeting with many of our local organizations to hear about how this impacted them.

Multiple people have already died at Camp East Montana, and the American people deserve answers from Kristi Noem and DHS.

Camp East Montana should be shut down.

To my Republican colleagues: how much more are you willing to accept before you will join with us to finally stop this insanity?

Donald Trump has made America unrecognizable.

He is using masked, armed agents acting with total impunity to go after U.S. citizens, and now another American is dead.

Will any Republicans help us end the chaos they’ve helped create before more people get killed?

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Violations of law, violations of the constitution, and violations of civil rights are happening here in America at the hands of the American government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security. This cannot stand.

I will be voting no.

Indiscriminate stops on the streets, racial profiling, people dragged from their cars and their homes, legal observers physically assaulted for documenting abuses, theft and destruction of property and people being killed by agents.

U.S. citizens, alongside lawful immigrants and members of vibrant communities, including children as young as five years old, are being targeted by ICE and Border Patrol in the kinds of abuses many of us never believed would happen in America.

The Trump agenda has never been about apprehending and deporting the “worst of the worst.”

Their own statistics prove that. The stories reported by journalists on the ground prove that. Eyewitness and firsthand accounts prove that.

This means Donald Trump does not want to protect U.S. citizens.
 
Let that sink in: Donald Trump does not want U.S. citizens protected from being detained and deported by ICE.

When the bill was reported out of committee, it included my amendment.
 
But during negotiations, I was told that the White House - Stephen Miller in particular - stripped my amendment from the bill.

During our debate on the bill, I successfully amended the bill to include language that would prevent ICE from apprehending and deporting U.S. citizens.

I want to be very clear: the bill that passed out of our House Homeland Appropriations subcommittee had protections for U.S. citizens against what we are seeing playing out in Minneapolis and other American cities.

🚨 Let's chat about today's DHS funding bill and how Donald Trump does not want to protect U.S. citizens from being detained or deported by ICE.
 
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Witnesses claim staff killed the detainee; DHS must preserve all evidence - including halting their effort to deport the witnesses. 
 
I reiterate my call for Camp East Montana to be shut down and for the contract with the corporation running it to be terminated.

Secretary Noem and Director Lyons have an obligation to provide Congress with a thorough briefing on the circumstances of the confirmed murder of a detainee at Camp East Montana. 
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This Republican law cut healthcare and nutrition programs for hard-working Americans in order to give the wealthiest Americans massive tax breaks and fund these tent cities and the gestapo-like tactics we are seeing across the country that target U.S. citizens and legal residents.

The $170 billion in funding for these corporate-run tent cities comes from the “One Big Beautiful Bill.

The existing facilities need to be shut down - not proliferated.

This is the same corporation that limits adequate oversight, has become increasingly fatal, and does not meet minimum standards for detaining human beings.

Donald Trump and Republicans have been using American taxpayer funds to enrich these private corporations that are responsible for Trump’s mass deportation efforts, including the corporation operating Camp East Montana.

ICE plans new El Paso County detention centers for 8,500; but no official announcement yet U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed new detention centers will open in El Paso County, near Clint, but they're not ready to announce them.

🚨 A private corporation received nearly $30 million through a no-bid federal contract to help design more detention space, including another facility in El Paso.

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I’m thankful to have joined community leaders yesterday for the annual MLK Jr. Celebration and Observance gathering at Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Church.

In our times of great injustice, we must continue our pursuit of what is righteous in tribute to Dr. King’s enormous legacy.

Two deaths in one month means conditions are worsening.

Camp East Montana must be shut down immediately.

Today, I was notified of yet another death at Camp East Montana.

This is the 3rd person who has died in the $1.24 billion privately-run facility that focuses on profits instead of meeting basic standards.
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Unless it involves an opportunity to enrich himself, his family, his friends, or his donors, his priorities do not reflect the problems Americans are begging politicians to solve.

Revoking this funding further proves this point.

Donald Trump does not care about the issues affecting Americans every day.

Already, local organizations and groups have reached out to my office with the devastating consequences and pain Secretary Kennedy’s decision to terminate grants and funding will inflict on our community.

Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants The Trump administration sent hundreds of letters Tuesday terminating federal grants supporting mental health and drug addiction services. The cuts could total as much as $2 billion.

Our country is in the midst of an addiction and mental health crisis, and the Trump administration is choosing to ignore the cries for help. Slashing funding for proven treatments will quite literally result in preventable deaths.

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