Ahead of DHS Funding Vote, Reps. Lee, Ramirez, Clarke Unveil Legislation to End ICE Detentions, Redirect Funding

Text of Bill (PDF)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – JANUARY 22, 2026 — Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12), joined Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) in introducing the Melt ICE Act to end the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding to detain or monitor immigrants, crippling DHS’s immigration enforcement. At a time when working families are facing a crushing affordability crisis, the legislation would also redirect funding toward wrap-around services, including housing and healthcare, for communities affected by immigration enforcement. 

Congress announced an appropriations bill to fund DHS that includes $3.84 billion for ICE custody operations and boosts Enforcement and Removal Operations funding to $5.45 billion. The House is scheduled to vote on this funding today.

“ICE continues to move with impunity—terrorizing communities, kidnapping children, and murdering our neighbors. This cruelty is fueled by run of the mill American racism and the Trump administration’s abuse of power. It must not be enabled by our tax dollars, and our country’s financial priorities should be the wellbeing of our people,” said Rep. Lee. “The Melt ICE Act is a step towards abolishing an agency designed to brutalize immigrants and people of color. I am proud to support this effort to end this reign of terror.”

“After handing more than $150B to DHS immigration enforcement, there are those in Congress who would further expand DHS’s budget and ICE’s capacity to enact Trump’s mass deportation agenda. But we have seen what DHS can do with its unlimited resources and unchecked power. And we are saying enough,” said Rep. Ramirez. “Our tax dollars must not be used to terrorize our communities and violate our rights. The Melt ICE Act is a line in the sand and a declaration that we will not fuel human suffering. I am proud to join Congresswoman Clarke and advocates to send a message that we do not consent, nor will we enable DHS and ICE’s lawlessness.”

“Any realistic effort to rein in ICE and DHS’s lawlessness should start with the blank check they have enjoyed since Donald Trump retook power. For one painful year now, these rogue entities have engaged in an unrestrained crusade of cruelty against our migrant neighbors and the places they call home. This unacceptable status quo cannot continue,” said Rep. Yvette D. Clarke. “The Melt ICE Act is a bold solution that will inhibit this administration’s ability to conduct its sadistic immigration enforcement strategy, while also giving back to our most vulnerable communities using the very funds once used to brutalize them. Congress has a moral and ethical responsibility to stop the taxpayer-funded chaos running rampant through our districts, and that why I am privileged to stand with Congresswoman Ramirez against the unlimited terror of DHS and ICE, and for the rights, freedom, and futures of immigrant Americans.”

The key provisions of the Melt ICE Act would:

1. Strikes all references to/authority for immigration detention in the INA: Sections 236(a), 236(c), 235(b), 241(a)
2. Terminates all existing contracts for immigration detention within 2 years of enactment, including but not limited to contracts with public entities, private entities, and any other entities that own or operate a program or facility that provides for non-residential detention-related activities for immigrants who are subject to monitoring by DHS.
3. Prevents DHS from entering into any new contracts with any entity for facilities to detain immigrants.
4. Requires DHS to submit a plan to get immigrants off ankle monitors within 6 months of enactment.
5. Redirects ICE funding to community-based organizations to provide wrap-around services to communities around the country. 

The legislation was written in collaboration and is endorsed by United We Dream and Detention Watch Network. 

“Now more than ever, we need real leaders to act courageously for the rights and dignity of everyone. We applaud Congresswoman Ramirez for her introduction of the Melt ICE Act, a critical piece of legislation to rein in ICE terror by restricting the agency’s authorities and fully ending the ICE detention once and for all. Make no mistake, as a nation, we are at a critical inflection point. ICE is now the largest police force in the country, operating with never-before-seen funding to maintain and expand the largest immigration detention system in the world. People are dying in detention, ICE agents are tearing families apart and shooting people on the streets, deteriorating community safety, and causing chaos wherever they go. Decades of evidence illustrate that no one is safe in ICE custody. We welcome Congresswoman Ramirez’s leadership in introducing the Melt ICE Act to say no more. No more endless funding for ICE, no more abuse and death at the hands of ICE, no more cruel detention when people can and should be able to navigate their immigration case from their home, and no more chaos,” said Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director at Detention Watch Network.

“The American people are overwhelmingly against using their tax dollars to fund continued death, destruction and terror in our cities, all while the actual dire needs of our communities are neglected. Millions of working families are struggling to afford groceries. Health care premiums are skyrocketing. People are working two, sometimes three, jobs just to keep a roof over their heads. Our communities are fed up! We demand policies that meet our needs, not those who seek to profit off the mass detention of our immigrant neighbors, the separation of families, and the deaths of allies like Renee. That work starts with the Melt ICE Act. We urge Members of Congress to follow the leadership of their colleagues, Congresswomen Ramirez and Clarke, and pass the Melt ICE Act now!” said United We Dream. 

A copy of the bill text can be found here.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs. Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.