The Defund Hate Coalition, also known as the Defund Hate Campaign, is a joint project by dozens of left-wing policy and legal activist groups which pushes to end government funding and support for border-security and immigration enforcement. Instead, members of the coalition demand that these taxpayer dollars be spent on programs favoring their constituents in immigrant and racial minority groups.

Statements by the coalition have equated immigration control measures with white nationalism. Notable members of the coalition include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a leading left-wing legal activist institution, and MoveOn Civic Action, a leading petition and voter mobilization coordinator with close ties with further-left factions within the Democratic Party. In addition, the coalition touts support from progressive religious groups, including the Jewish Bend the Arc and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Quaker American Friends Service Committee, and the Unitarian Universalist Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. ¹

Defund Hate is managed by the anti-border security and anti-immigration law enforcement Detention Watch Network (DWN) in partnership with other members of the coalition. The network’s other initiatives have included a pressure campaign to release all detained illegal aliens during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and an effort to have Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facilities for illegal immigrants shut down. ² The pro-illegal immigration and pro-LGBT activist group United We Dream also closely participates in managing Defund Hate. ³ The campaign previously relied on the left-of-center NEO Philanthropy as its fiscal sponsor. ⁴

Initiatives

The Defund Hate Campaign aims to defund and handicap immigration law enforcement agencies, particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The coalition claims that both ICE and CBP are founded on allegedly “racist” laws, and it is especially opposed to Title 42, which allowed federal authorities to expedite the deportation of illegal border crossers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the coalition targets the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for budget cuts, as both ICE and CBP receive funding through DHS. ^{5 6}

Impact

The Defund Hate Campaign claims to have helped block close to $12 billion in funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As of late 2023, it listed more than 70 allied organizations from across the left-wing activism and grantmaking sphere. ⁷ According to the left-wing Inter-Religious Task Force on Central America, the amount of funding for border security and immigration law enforcement which Defund Hate has succeeded in diverting was close to $15 billion at the end of 2023. ⁸

Leadership

Roshni Ahmed has been the manager of the Defund Hate Campaign at Detention Watch Network since August 2022. She previously worked for the migrant resettlement advocacy group Women for Afghan Women, which pushes for municipalities in the United States to accept refugees from the Afghanistan conflict region and then expand taxpayer-funded programs to subsidize them. She has also interned for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Equality of Women, commonly known as UN Women, and the Aga Khan Foundation, an international grantmaking organization backed by the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Ahmed attended Johns Hopkins University, where she was involved with the campus Muslim association. ^{9 10}

Financials

The Defund Hate Campaign has received funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation, including a $100,000 grant to the campaign’s then-fiscal sponsor NEO Philanthropy in 2018 which was designated for “Defund Hate” messaging. ¹¹

1. ^[1]“We Are Here to Defund Hate.” Defund Hate. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://defundhatenow.org/about/
2. “Detention Watch Network 2020 Annual Report.” Detention Watch Network. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/Detention%20Watch%20Network%20Annual%20Report%202020.pdf
3. Roshni Ahmed. LinkedIn. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/roshni-ahmed-b92b3a102
4. The Heising-Simons Foundation 2018 Internal Revenue Service Form 990-PF. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.hsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-Heising-Simons-Foundation-990-PF-Public-Disclosure.pdf
5. “Understanding the Finances Behind ICE and CBP.” Defund Hate. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://defundhatenow.org/how-to/#ICE-and-CBP-budget
6. Catherine Shoichet. “What is Title 42, why is it ending and what’s happening now at the border?” CNN Politics. May 11, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/politics/title-42-ending-whats-next-explainer-cec/index.html
7. “We Are Here to Defund Hate.” Defund Hate. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://defundhatenow.org/about/
8. “Migrant Justice Newsletter and Urgent Actions – October 2023.” Inter-Religious Task Force on Central America. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog/migrant-justice-newsletter-oct-2023
9. Roshni Ahmed. LinkedIn. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/roshni-ahmed-b92b3a102
10. “About Us.” The Ismaili. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://the.ismaili/global/about-us/his-highness-the-aga-khans-biography
11. The Heising-Simons Foundation 2018 Internal Revenue Service Form 990-PF. Accessed December 10, 2023. https://www.hsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-Heising-Simons-Foundation-990-PF-Public-Disclosure.pdf