Remember the $1 trillion of funding for health care that Trump and Republicans in Congress slashed over the summer? $170 billion of that funding has since been funneled to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). [1] That’s right—your tax dollars that once paid for our health care are now funding thousands of poorly trained ICE agents who are terrorizing cities and killing US citizens and immigrants. Trump and Republicans in Congress made extreme cuts to Medicaid to pay for separating families, human rights abuses, and terrifying hardworking immigrants—people essential to our care workforce, our economy and our future.

And you and I are footing the bill. As a result of the $1 trillion health care cuts (millions of which now fund ICE), 15 million people will have lost health care coverage altogether. [2] When millions of people become uninsured, it will put a strain on the entire health care system, causing health care costs to rise across the board and even forcing hundreds of hospitals, maternity wards, and nursing homes to close. At least 5.4 million more people are estimated to go into medical debt—and families whose health coverage is terminated could see their medical debt increase by as much as $22,280. [3]

Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) introduced an amendment that would roll back a $75 billion funding increase for ICE included in Trump’s Big, Ugly Budget bill passed over the summer. The amendment would then reallocate that funding to Medicaid, restoring health care for 700,000 people. Yet when given the option to expand health care access for constituents or continue to expand ICE’s bloated budget, Some Senators voted to protect funding for ICE and remove access to health care, siding with the violence, cruelty, and rogue denial of civil liberties taking place on ICE’s account. 

Not on our watch! Tell these Senators to do right by our families and our economy by voting YES next time.

The American people are hurting. Our hearts are heavy with fear and loss following the horrific murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the kidnapping and detention of Liam Ramos, the violence in our streets, and the many disappearings of our neighbors by masked agents, with virtually no accountability. No child, mother, or family should have to grieve this kind of trauma and loss. 

At the same time, making ends meet is harder than ever for many families across our nation. It’s time to get our priorities straight. Our taxpayer dollars should be used for health care and other programs for families and our economy, NOT for cruelty and harm. 

Our families and communities deserve better than a system that spends our tax dollars spreading fear and violence instead of investing them where they belong: Health care, child care, nutrition, and other programs that allow us to build good lives, go to work, and contribute to our communities. Our nation needs a safe and orderly immigration process that balances compassion and security, not cuts to health care, and certainly not cruelty or violence.

References:

[1] New Funding Increases Immigration Enforcement, National Immigration Law Center
[2] By the Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Will Take Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raise Families’ Costs, CBPP
[3] GOP Health Care Cuts: A Recipe for Medical Debt Disaster, Third Way