Voto Latino Urges Senators to Stand with Law-Abiding Americans — Vote NO on DHS Funding - Voto Latino

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Voto Latino Urges Senators to Stand with Law-Abiding Americans — Vote NO on DHS Funding

Since September, Trump’s DHS has shot 13 people during immigration enforcement operations — a deadly pattern of unchecked force.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Voto Latino called on Republican senators and Democratic Senators Hassan, Shaheen, and Fetterman to stand with the American public and reject the Department of Homeland Security funding package unless it includes real accountability and an end to reckless immigration enforcement that has resulted in multiple fatal shootings of U.S. citizens.

In response, Voto Latino issued the following statement: 

“Across the country, for over a year, the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration has operated with impunity—marked by recklessness, incompetence, and a complete lack of accountability in immigration enforcement. Bad-faith actors have pushed beyond legal boundaries, eroding the rule of law and violating constitutional rights.  

For weeks now, families in Minneapolis have been terrorized by a militarized surge of Border Patrol and ICE agents, operating without meaningful oversight or restraint. As a result, two U.S. citizens — Renée Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti — are deceased amid these operations. These are not isolated tragedies — they are the direct consequence of an emboldened DHS. 

We are calling on Republican senators and Democratic Senators Hassan, Shaheen, and Fetterman to reject funding that subsidizes violence. Funding DHS as if nothing has gone wrong signals to law-abiding Americans that their lives and rights don’t matter. Congress must demand transparency, accountability, and an immediate halt to enforcement practices that treat civilians as adversaries rather than human beings.

No family should live in fear of losing a loved one to an aggressive federal force. Senators have a clear choice: side with Americans who want safe communities and accountable government, or side with an administration that has turned immigration enforcement into an unchecked tool of violence. Vote NO on DHS funding unless accountability and oversight are guaranteed.”

Since September of 2025, DHS has shot 13 people during their violent and lawless immigration enforcement operations:

  • Alex Pretti, Killed. January 24 in Minneapolis.
  • Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, Injured. January 14 in Minneapolis.
  • Luis David Nino Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, Injured. January 8 in Oregon.
  • Renee Good, Killed. January 7 in Minneapolis.
  • Keith Porter, Killed. December 31 in California.
  • Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, Injured. December 24 in Maryland.
  • Isaias Sanchez Barboza, Killed. December 11 in Texas.
  • Carlos Jimenez, Injured. October 30 in California.
  • Jose Garcia-Sorto, Injured. October 29 in Phoenix.
  • Carlitos Ricardo Paria, Injured. October 21 in California. 
  • Marimar Martinez, Injured. October 4 in Chicago. 
  • Silverio Villegas González, Killed. September 12 in Illinois.

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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.