Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who represents California’s 37th district in the U.S. Congress, has criticized recent Republican funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a series of posts on her official social media account.
On January 22, 2026, Kamlager-Dove wrote: “Republicans gave DHS $170 BILLION in their Big Ugly Bill—including $75 billion for ICE. Since then, all they’ve done with that money is inflict terror on communities, violate the law, and kill a U.S. citizen.
I was a HELL NO then, and I’m a HELL NO now. Not another dime for DHS.”
Later that day, she posted about an incident involving ICE and a young child: “ICE detained five-year-old Liam Ramos on his way home from school, then used him as “bait” to detain his family members—who, per their attorney, are going through the legal asylum process. He and his father were sent to Texas.
This isn’t about criminals. It’s about cruelty.” She also provided a link for further reading: “Read more: https://t.co/9X9oAahMfX”.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove began serving in Congress in 2023 after replacing Karen Bass as representative of California’s 37th district. Before her tenure in Congress, she served in the California State Assembly from 2018 to 2021 and later in the California Senate until 2023. Born in Chicago in 1972 and currently residing in Los Angeles, Kamlager-Dove graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA degree in 1994.
Her statements add to ongoing debates regarding federal immigration enforcement practices and congressional appropriations for agencies such as DHS and ICE.
