WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Child Care for Every Family Network called on Congress to oppose any additional funding for ICE, after weeks of sustained cruelty and violence perpetuated by Department of Homeland Security agents in Minnesota and across the country.

Andrea Paluso, Co-Director of the Child Care for Every Family Network, released the following statement: 

“Right now, there are children, families, and child care providers across the country living in fear of unchecked violence at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs & Border Control (CBP) agents. And yet, the current Department of Human Services (DHS) budget for FY 2026 includes significant funding increases for ICE and CBP in addition to the unprecedented funding already received in 2025. It’s undeniable that this additional funding to these agencies will further harm children, incite violence in our communities, tear families apart, and further destabilize our child care workforce. As of 2023, at least 22% of our child care workforce was made up of immigrant women. Immigrants are essential to our communities, kids, families, and economy and we must work to defend and protect their rights and lives.

Every single Senator who claims to support kids, families and child care must reject this funding for ICE and CBP. Voting yes would be a moral failure, plain and simple, and a deliberate political choice to fund fear and punishment instead of care and stability. Parents and families are watching, and they will not soon forget who is fighting for them and who betrays them.”

The terror and cruelty inflicted by the Department of Homeland Security in Minnesota and across the country comes after the Trump Administration has already acted to freeze and delay child funding in response to a manufactured and false narrative about fraud. Earlier this month, the Child Care for Every Family Network made clear that this effort to attack child care funding is “nothing more than racist fearmongering that weaponizes disinformation at the expense of families in Minnesota and across the country who rely on child care assistance to work, survive, and care for their children.”

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The Child Care for Every Family Network is the national movement and campaign to transform child care, representing 2,000+ child care providers and early educators, impacted families, state and national organizations, and organizers across the country. Learn more: childcareforeveryfamily.org.