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Letter: Utah’s representatives voted for the $316 million DHS appropriations bill. Our senators must vote it down.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend an anti-ICE protest at City Hall in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.

All four of Utah’s House members, Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy, Mike Kennedy and Burgess Owens, voted in favor of HR7147 — a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that increases its funding by $316 million. As incredible as it is to behold, our own “representatives” approved increased funding for a department of our government that has gunned down American citizens under highly questionable circumstances. As of this writing, the Senate hasn’t passed HR7147, so there’s still time to call Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis and ask them to vote against it.

On the bright side, Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Blake Moore have called for investigations of DHS, so I thank them for that. “We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the Minnesota shooting,” said Sen. Curtis.

Speaking of transparency, we also need investigations into what is happening to those ICE have arrested. “I had no idea of what was happening in the camps,” is an excuse I never want to hear from Americans.

Charles Ashurst, Logan

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