Rep. Valerie Foushee Cosponsors Legislation to Defund and Dismantle ICE

WASHINGTON, DC (February 5, 2026) - Today, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) announced that she has cosponsored the Melt ICE Act, legislation to defund and strip Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of its authority to detain or surveil immigrants. This legislation would also redirect funding towards wrap-around services, including housing and healthcare, for communities affected by immigration enforcement.

Congresswoman Foushee cosponsors this legislation amid Congress' vote to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security for 2 weeks with no true changes to immigration enforcement. In 2025, at least 30 people died while in ICE custody, the highest number of deaths in more than two decades, and in 2026 alone, eight people have already died while in ICE custody.

"ICE is a rogue, lawless agency that is incompatible with our democracy. This agency has systematically targeted Black, Brown, and immigrant communities, terrorizing them and taking the lives of far too many. There is no reason why this taxpayer-funded brutality and chaos should continue," said Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04). "The Melt ICE Act will inhibit the Trump Administration's sickening so-called 'immigration enforcement' by stripping ICE of its authority to detain or surveil, dealing a crushing blow to DHS's extreme immigration enforcement. I am proud to stand with Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke and Congresswoman Delia Ramirez against ICE, and for human rights in America."

The Melt ICE Act was drafted with United We Dream and Detention Watch Network, and is endorsed by Jewish Voices for Peace Action (JVPA), Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project.

Specifically, the Melt ICE Act would:

• Strike all references to/authority for immigration detention in the INA: Sections 236(a), 236(c), 235(b), 241(a).

• Terminate all existing contracts for immigration detention within two years of enactment, including but not limited to contracts with public entities, private entities, and any other entities that own or operate a program or facility that provides for non-residential detention-related activities for immigrants who are subject to monitoring by DHS.

• Prevent DHS from entering into any new contracts with any entity for facilities to detain immigrants.

• Requires DHS to submit a plan to get immigrants off ankle monitors within six months of enactment.

• Redirects ICE funding to community-based organizations through a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant to provide wrap-around services to communities around the country.

Congresswoman Foushee has also cosponsored the following bills to stop ICE's terror in our communities:

• An Amendment to H.R. 7148 to revoke Big, Ugly Bill funding for ICE and divert it to cover health care funding cuts.

• The Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act to establish a stronger standard for Federal immigration agents' use of force.

• The ICE Badge Visibility Act to require ICE agents to clearly display badges and agency ties.

• The ICE Visibility Act to amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and all other Immigration officers, including those deputized, to wear visible and distinct uniforms at all times of action.

• The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act to repeal mandatory detention and prohibit the detention of families and children in family detention.

• The Neighbors Not Enemies Act to fully repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The full bill text of the Melt ICE Act can be found here.