Rep. Summer Lee Joins PA House Democrats Urging Fetterman, McCormick to Oppose DHS Funding

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 27, 2026 - Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12)joined her fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to urge Pennsylvania's U.S. Senators to oppose a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that fails to include critical, enforceable reforms. The letter, sent to Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA), comes as the Senate is set to vote on the spending bill that currently includes DHS funding this week. 

In the letter, the Pennsylvania House members write, "We urge you to oppose any legislation that provides funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without first securing meaningful, enforceable reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related DHS agency activity. The DHS Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations bill in front of the Senate for consideration this week does not include such reforms, and we urge you to oppose it. We voted against this bill last week and ask that you do the same." 

The members continue: "Funding without adequate reform risks endorsing current approaches that undermine public safety and due process, erode American liberties, and weaken public trust."

Last week, the entire Pennsylvania Democratic delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against an appropriations bill that included funding for DHS. The final vote was 220-207, passing the House chamber with only seven Democratic votes.

Ahead of the vote, Congresswoman Lee joined her colleagues to unveil legislationto end ICE detention and redirect funding toward community-based support services, underscoring the urgent need for structural reforms rather than continued blank-check funding for DHS. She has consistently called to abolish ICE and end detention-based immigration enforcement altogether, advocating instead for investments in community-based support, legal services, and humanitarian processing.

The delegation letter, led by Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and co-led by Representatives Brendan Boyle (PA-02) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), was also signed by Representatives Dwight Evans (PA-03), Madeline Dean (PA-04), and Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05).

The full text of the delegation letter is availablehere. A related Philadelphia Inquirer article on the Pennsylvania Democratic delegation's action is available here.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, shehas delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billionbrought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.