Republicans Leave Washington Without Reforming ICE, Forcing a Partial Government Shutdown

Washington, D.C. — As Congress enters recess without an agreement on DHS funding and ICE accountability measures, Republicans have forced a partial shutdown of the nation’s third-largest federal agency. This lapse in funding extends beyond ICE, affecting other agencies such as FEMA, TSA, and the United States Coast Guard, among others. In response, Voto Latino issued the following statement: 

“When Congressional Republicans were confronted with the opportunity to do their jobs—to come to the table and find real solutions to fix ICE’s dysfunction—they instead chose to leave Washington for a week-long break. This dereliction of duty is why so many people have lost faith in the Republican majority. Americans overwhelmingly support ICE reform. What they have witnessed over the past year—abusive and deadly ICE operations across the country—is not what they voted for. Instead of safety, these actions are instilling chaos and fear in our communities.

Any ICE reform must include common-sense and tangible accountability measures. Starting tonight, thousands of federal employees will be forced to work without pay because Republicans chose obstruction over a bipartisan solution. While Democrats have laid out a clear path to rein in the systemic abuses of ICE, Republicans have betrayed Americans by refusing to come to the table and vote on meaningful reform.

We demand that Republicans stop playing political games, pass real, comprehensive ICE reform, and do their jobs.”

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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 over 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.