For Immediate Release: June 10, 2026
Contact: napawf@berlinrosen.com
Congress voted to direct nearly $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, bringing total immigration enforcement funding approved by Congress to roughly $240 billion in less than one year. The legislation dramatically expands ICE operations, detention, and deportation at a time when immigrant communities continue to raise concerns about conditions inside detention facilities, including reports of inadequate medical care, retaliation against people who speak out, hunger strikes, and a growing number of deaths in ICE custody.
The following statement can be attributed to Christina Baal-Owens, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF):
“Congress can miraculously find $240 billion in one year to incarcerate, abuse, and deport immigrants but can’t find the money to improve our healthcare, education, and childcare systems. These distorted priorities must stop. Members of Congress who care about the millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet must hold accountable those who voted to fund detention and deportation over investing in the needs of working families.”
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities include millions of immigrants, refugees, and mixed-status families whose lives will be directly affected by this expansion of detention and deportation.
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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.