In his 2018 proposed budget, Trump has requested A LOT more money to fund the detention and deportation of immigrants, including:

• funds to hire new ICE and Border Patrol agents to terrorize our communities,
• more local police to focus on immigration enforcement,
• a massive increase in immigrant detention—the equivalent of locking up the entire population of New Orleans over the course of a year,
• $1.6 billion to build a southern border wall, and
• further border militarization including aircraft and surveillance technology

At the same time, the administration is seeking drastic cuts to vital housing, education, nutrition, and health care programs that help communities grow and thrive together, and is threatening to take away programs like DACA and Temporary Protected Status, which would subject hundreds of thousands more people to deportation.

Congress is taking action on this budget right now. The bill in the House of Representatives gives Trump almost all of what he asked for, even though ICE and CBP have put the detention and deportation machine on steroids, regularly lie, hide information from the American public, and retaliate against anyone who speaks out.

Living in the state of Washington, we have a unique opportunity to resist this. Our Senator Patty Murray is on the Budget and Appropriations Committees in the Senate, which means she has a voice in deciding how much taxpayer money will end up going towards Trump’s anti-immigration agenda. As a leader in the Senate, we believe she is in the position to be a progressive champion in opposing the immigration enforcement budget. We are asking you to sign this petition in order to tell Senator Murray that her constituents in the state of Washington want:

1) For Senator Murray to publicly call for significant cuts to the detention and deportation machine.
2) For Senator Murray to be a voice within the Budget and Appropriations Committees and the Senate for divesting from the detention and deportation machine and investing in healthcare, education, and housing programs.
3) For Senator Murray to meet with directly affected people and organizations behind the #DefundHate campaign in WA.