ACLU Statement on House Vote for Excessive ICE Funding Without Limitations

EL PASO, Texas – A harrowing Washington Post report released Thursday found that the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old father detained at an immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX, will likely be ruled a homicide due to asphyxiation after a witness at the facility claims they saw guards choke him to death. The report comes weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that Lunas Campos died at the facility after alleging staff “witnessed him in distress.” “The death of Geraldo Lunas Campos is the latest in a string of preventable deaths by ICE and illustrates a broader pattern of unchecked violence and abuse carried out by ICE against members of our communities on the taxpayer’s dime,” said Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. “The record breaking 32 deaths in ICE custody last year marked the deadliest year for the agency in nearly two decades. These deaths in detention facilities, coupled with the continued escalation of violence by federal agents in our streets, paint a grim picture of what happens when a government agency has an astronomical budget and no accountability. We cannot allow these deaths to become daily occurrences or this violence to continue to be inflicted – and we need Congress to shut down the Fort Bliss detention camp once and for all.” In December 2025, the ACLU and human rights groups sent a letter to ICE demanding end immigration detention at Camp East Montana, a massive tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base. Within their letter, advocates described a disturbing pattern of abuses, including beatings and sexual abuse by officers against detained immigrants, beatings and coercive threats to compel deportation to third countries, medical neglect, hunger and insufficient food, and denial of meaningful access to counsel, among other rights violations. The Trump administration hastily opened the sprawling tent camp in August 2025, despite warnings from members of Congress and advocates that the facility would be a humanitarian disaster. The facility is located on the military base formerly used to intern people of Japanese descent during World War II and currently holds over 2,700 people, making it the country’s largest immigration detention center.

MINNEAPOLIS — The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit today against the Trump administration on behalf of three community members — and a class of similarly situated people — whose constitutional rights were violated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection(CBP), and other federal agents. Over the past six weeks, the Trump administration has increased its deployment of federal forces by the thousands. Masked federal agents in military gear have ignored basic human rights in their enforcement activity against Minnesotans, especially targeting Somali and Latino communities. The Trump administration has been clear in its targeting of the Somali and Latino communities through Operation Metro Surge. President Trump called people from Somalia “garbage,” said “we don’t want them in our country,” and told them to “go back to where they came from.” Following Trump's comments, ICE and CBP agents have indiscriminately arrested — without warrants or probable cause — Minnesotans solely because the agents perceived them to be Somali or Latino. In their lawsuit, the three Minnesotans challenge the administration’s policy of racially profiling, unlawfully seizing, and unlawfully arresting,people without a warrant and without probable cause. This is a violation of Minnesotans’ constitutional rights to equal protection and against unreasonable seizures. Plaintiff Mubashir Khalif Hussen is a 20-year-old U.S. citizen. On Dec. 10, 2025, he was walking to lunch in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood when he was stopped by multiple masked ICE agents. When Hussen realized he was being stopped by ICE, he began repeating, “I’m a citizen. I’m a citizen.” But the agents refused to look at Hussen’s ID. ICE agents put Hussen into an SUV and drove him to the Whipple building in south Minneapolis. Only after being shackled, having his fingerprints taken, and showing a photo of his passport card to an individual at the Whipple building was Hussen let go. “At no time did any officer ask me whether I was a citizen or if I had any immigration status,” said Hussen. “They did not ask for any identifying information, nor did they ask about my ties to the community, how long I had lived in the Twin Cities, my family in Minnesota, or anything else about my circumstances.” “ICE and CBP’s practices are both illegal and morally reprehensible,” said Catherine Ahlin-Halverson, staff attorney with the ACLU of Minnesota. “Federal agents’ conduct — sweeping up Minnesotans through racial profiling and unlawful arrests — is a grave violation of Minnesotans’ most fundamental rights, and it has spread fear among immigrant communities and neighborhoods. No one, including federal agents, is above the law.” “The government can’t stop and arrest people based on the color of their skin, or arrest people with no probable cause,” said Kate Huddleston, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “These kinds of police-state tactics are contrary to the basic principles of liberty and equality that remain a bedrock of our legal system and our country.” “The massive presence of ICE agents as part of Operation Metro Surge has disrupted civic life in the Twin Cities. Minnesotans are at risk of being stopped by ICE while going to work or shopping for groceries,” said Greene Espel attorney Kshithij Shrinath. “We will continue to stand with our community and the rule of law.” If you have been questioned, stopped, arrested, or detained by ICE where the officers did not have a warrant or where the encounter appeared to be the result of racial profiling, visit aclu-mn.org/ice-feds-form. The complaint is here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/01/COMPLAINT-HUSSEN-v.-NOEM-1.pdf  

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota, Covington & Burling LLP, Greene Espel PLLP, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of three community members — and a class of similarly situated people — whose constitutional rights were violated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other federal agents.

WASHINGTON — Today, peaceful protests and vigils kicked off the ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action to honor the lives lost at the hands of ICE, demand accountability, and make visible the human cost of this administration’s actions. The nonviolent, lawful, and community-led actions will continue tomorrow, Sunday, January 11, culminating in over 1,000 events throughout the weekend. You can find the list of events here. ICE Out For Good is a broad, national coalition, including Indivisible, MoveOn Civic Action, the American Civil Liberties Union, Voto Latino, United We Dream, 50501, the Disappeared in America Campaign of the Not Above the Law coalition, and partner organizations across the country. All actions under the ICE Out For Good banner are grounded in moral witness, public accountability, and collective care. We remain committed to nonviolent organizing. See coverage below from across the country on the first day of the ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action: The Guardian: More than 1,000 events planned in US after ICE shootings in Minneapolis and Portland USA Today: Where are ICE protests taking place this weekend? Here's what to know Axios: ICE and Border Patrol shootings spark hundreds of weekend vigils and protests CT Insider: Connecticut holds ICE protests Saturday in response to Renee Good shooting death Knoxville News Sentinel: Hundreds gather in Knoxville to protest ICE shooting in Minneapolis CBS Philadelphia: Philadelphia protesters want "ICE out for Good" after videos show agent killing woman in Minnesota ABC11: North Carolina cities join nationwide anti-ICE protests after Minneapolis, Portland shootings ABC7: ICE Out For Good rally in Sarasota FOX5: Virginia protest against ICE as new video of MN shooting emerges TCPalm: Group gathers in Stuart, Florida for 'ICE Out For Good' protest AZ Central: Renee Good Nicole shooting spurs nationwide 'ICE out for Good' protests Leaders from the partner organizations issued the following statements: AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION “The shootings in Minneapolis and Portland weren’t the beginning of ICE’s cruelty, but they must be the end. Today, we saw communities across the country gather peacefully to mourn the lives lost at the hands of ICE and to demand accountability. These protests are further proof that public opposition to ICE and this administration’s abuses is growing by the minute. Whether it's by joining a protest, attending a know your rights training, or demanding that our Congresspeople stop funding these out-of-control agencies, Americans across the country are saying “NO. Not on our watch.” – Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer, ACLU INDIVISIBLE “Renee Nicole Good should be alive today. Her death has sparked grief and outrage across the country as the latest horrific incident in a mounting toll of enormous harm and horror caused by ICE. This weekend, people all over are coming together not just to mourn the lives lost to ICE violence, but to confront a pattern of harm that has torn families apart and terrorized our communities. We demand justice for Renee, ICE out of our communities, and action from our elected leaders. Enough is enough." – Leah Greenberg, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible POPULAR DEMOCRACY “Every person ICE has killed had a family, a community, and a life that mattered. Pouring billions of public dollars into a rogue enforcement agency that terrorizes our communities while denying people health care, housing, food security, and education is morally indefensible and profoundly reckless. This cruelty flows directly from the agenda of fear and punishment pushed by extremists like ​​Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, embraced and strengthened by the President himself. We demand accountability for the killing of Renee Nicole Good and for the countless lives lost at the hands of ICE. The lesson is clear: this violence will not stop until ICE is abolished.” — DaMareo Cooper, Executive Director, Popular Democracy 50501 "This weekend's actions are prompted most immediately by the tragic death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, and her murder at the hands of ICE is unspeakable. We will uplift her this weekend, and we will uplift all those in our communities whom ICE has targeted and brutalized, from Silverio Gonzales to Marimar Martinez to all of those people in marginalized communities whose names must not be forgotten. This is our moment. We must conjure the souls of our brave ancestors and remember we stand on the shoulders of giants." – Sarah Parker, 50501 Spokesperson and Executive Director, Voices of Florida Fund MOVEON CIVIC ACTION “For a full year, Trump’s masked agents have been abducting people off the streets, raiding schools, libraries, and churches. As ICE’s unnecessary, reckless, and escalatory deployment goes unchecked, the killing of civilians will only continue. None of us want to live in a country where federal agents with guns are lurking and inciting violence at schools and in our communities. This is why MoveOn members will be uniting once again this weekend in peaceful, nonviolent, powerful protests in stark contrast to the unrepentant, ruthless violence of this administration.” – Katie Bethell, MoveOn Civic Action Executive Director PUBLIC CITIZEN, NOT ABOVE THE LAW COALITION “Masked, power-hungry federal agents are treating the streets of America like the Wild West. The intimidation tactics, the deadly attacks against our communities and the brazen lawlessness by immigration enforcement must stop now. As ICE and border patrol agents commandeer neighborhoods, people in detention centers, in ICE custody or simply in their own personal vehicles fear for their lives. This militarization of immigration enforcement is endangering everyone. What’s more alarming is the Department of Homeland Security, the vice president and president of the United States are endorsing ICE and CBP’s violent behavior. The Trump Administration must stop ICE deployment now, we must deeply investigate this unjust killing, and the American people must file peacefully into the streets to resist this illegal, overreaching use of government power. We must stand together to effectively defend ourselves.” – Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen and co-chair of the Not Above the Law Coalition which formed the Disappeared in America Campaign. NDLON “We immigrants know what authoritarian violence is. Many of us come from countries where we had to endure the kind of hatred and terror we saw in Minneapolis. Many of us fled brutal regimes to seek survival here.” “We grieve for Renee Nicole Good and all the victims of this Administration's shameful and senseless brutality — the growing list of the dead and injured. But we are not just sorrowful. We are defiant. We, the people, will stand together against all efforts to dehumanize us, polarize us, terrorize us and kill us.” “They want to provoke us into responding to violence with violence, to meet hate with hate. They are desperate to justify their cruelty with ever more brutality.” “But we immigrants know how to confront authoritarianism. We will resist the government's attacks by building community, by documenting atrocities, by protesting nonviolently, by showing kindness and solidarity at all times. We will meet them in the streets, in the courts, at the day labor corners. We will meet them everywhere. And we will win.” “We are not afraid or discouraged. And we will not be defeated. The more we stand together as a community of determination and love, the harder it will be for them to divide and destroy us.” – Pablo Alvarado, Co-Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network THE WORKERS CIRCLE “The tragic killing of Renee Good — a U.S. citizen exercising her fundamental rights — by a federal ICE agent is not just a catastrophic loss for her family and community; it is a stark warning to all of us about where unchecked power leads. This administration’s expanding use of force against our neighbors erodes the very rights and safety that define who we are as a nation. As a Jewish organization, we know what unchecked power has done in the past. We must not let that take root here, today. Now, more than ever, we must demand transparency, accountability, and policies that protect human life, human dignity and civil liberties for everyone. Allowing federal forces to act without independent oversight undermines justice and threatens the safety of us all.” – Ann Toback, CEO, The Workers Circle UNITED WE DREAM “Using your first amendment rights to speak out and show up for your neighbors during the growing anti-immigrant violence in our cities should be a protected constitutional right, not a death sentence. This brutal killing is a horrifying reminder of the threat armed forces pose to our collective safety, especially at a time when local, state and federal officials have consistently called on the federal government to invest in the resources working families truly need —health care, housing, access to food— instead of indiscriminate terror in our communities. Billions poured into immigration raids for the sake of ripping apart communities in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis does nothing but lead to irreparable damage, violence and death. In 2025 alone, 32 people died in immigration detention. We demand an immediate end to this cruelty and for elected leaders at every level to speak out in defense of immigrant communities and our shared safety.” – United We Dream VOTO LATINO “Under Donald Trump’s leadership and Kristi Noem’s direction of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE has become more aggressive, more reckless, and more deadly — with 2025 marking its deadliest year in two decades. The killing of Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, is not an isolated failure but the predictable outcome of a political agenda that rewards force and dehumanization.” “Trump and Noem have normalized the erosion of constitutional rights, framing brutality as enforcement and accountability as weakness. Their rhetoric and policies have sent a clear message down the chain of command: push limits, ignore safeguards, and expect protection from consequences. This is not about partisan politics — it is about defending human life and the rule of law. We stand with Renee Nicole Good’s family and with communities nationwide to demand accountability and to stop the unchecked enforcement born of Trump and Noem’s leadership before more lives are lost.” – Voto Latino