Representatives Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), and Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) have introduced a bill to redirect funds allocated to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Title I schools and require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to sell 11 recently purchased warehouse facilities.
What the Bill Does
The Fund Schools, Not ICE Act transfers any unobligated funding for ICE into Title I, Part A grants for public schools through 2029. Additionally, DHS must sell 11 warehouses, including the one in Surprise, Arizona, intended for use as detention centers, within 60 days of enactment.
What Lawmakers are Saying
"Public school districts across the country are facing massive challenges and chronic underfunding, yet again this Administration funneled billions in taxpayer funds for its dangerous mass deportation agenda," said Rep. Stanton in a press release. "ICE's poorly trained force is not making Americans safer – it's causing chaos and fear. My legislation ensures that our classrooms, not ICE, have the resources and support they need to educate our next generation."
Rep. Ansari commented, "ICE has done nothing to keep our communities safe. Instead, they have used the billions of dollars in funding handed over by Trump and Republicans to terrorize our communities and murder American citizens. Our schools are safe places, and our resources should be used to support students, not expand ICE's presence in our communities. I'm proud to stand with my colleagues in introducing this legislation."
Rep. Grijalva stated, "Instead of wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on inhumane, for-profit detention warehouses and pouring even more money into a lawless agency that is murdering people on our streets, we should be investing in our children and strengthening our public schools. At a time when the Trump administration is systematically defunding public education, this bill puts our students ahead of Trump's cruel mass deportation agenda."
