Washington, DC — In response to Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director, Todd Lyons comments at the 2025 Border Security Expo, Setareh Ghandehari, Advocacy Director of Detention Watch Network, issued the following comment:
“We are in a crisis of conscience. The Trump administration’s escalation of dehumanizing language and policies directed towards immigrants should alarm everyone. People are not commodities to be shipped, discarded, and profited off of. Immigrants are vital contributors of our communities – neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family members who are loved and valued. ICE’s record and Lyon’s shocking comments yet again make it clear that people are not safe in ICE custody – not now, not ever. ICE is a morally bankrupt agency that operates with a nearly $10 billion annual budget, its largest budget in history following a staggering budget increase of nearly $500 million from Congress in its short-term government funding bill. Every ICE arrest, detention, and deportation represents a family separation that causes trauma to children, families, and communities.
We denounce the dehumanization of immigrants under the Trump administration that continues to set dangerous precedents everyday, and we call on members of Congress to vehemently and vocally oppose Trump’s blatantly racist mass detention and deportation agenda. Members of Congress must deny ICE funding — we need real leaders who aren’t afraid to unite against Trump and stop the endless cash flow to ICE, an abusive agency to its core.”
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Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.