Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and a group of Senate Democrats, in a newly released letter, urged Senate Appropriators to decrease funding for President Trump's deportation force and detention beds as part of the FY18 budget and not to authorize funds for a costly and unnecessary border wall.

"As your Committee considers the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Fiscal Year 2018 Appropriations bill, we respectfully seek a reduction in funding for President Trump's detention beds and deportation force, and ask that no funds be made available for a costly and unjustified border wall," the senators wrote. "President Trump's budget makes massive cuts to domestic programs that support all Americans, including critical DHS grant dollars that help guard against terrorism and keep communities safe, while asking for $2.8 billion in new discretionary spending to implement his immigration Executive Orders. The budget includes a $1.5 billion increase to detain and remove immigrants, $362 million to hire and train additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, and a $1.6 billion down payment on an unnecessary border wall."

In addition to Bennet, the letter was signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Bennet was a member of the Gang of Eight, a group of bipartisan senators that drafted and secured passage of comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. Senate in 2013.

Click HERE for the full text of the letter.