"I don't have the exact number." Yep. That is how the United States Secretary of Homeland Secuirty, Kirstjen Nielsen responded to Representative David Cicilline's question, when he asked her how many people have died in her dapartment's custody. The Department of Homeland Security's number one job is to protect the interior of our nation and to partake in activities that best suit the protection of our country. April 2018 the Trump Administration released "The Zero Tolerance Policy" which cracked down on illegal immigration and would force the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute anyone who illegally crossed the border. The policy soon was given a new name, "Family Seperation Policy" by citizens. They startred calling the policy 'Family seperation policy' because well, that is exactly what it did. Once immigrats crossed the border illegally with their child, the child was placed with a sponsor, foster parents or placed in a shelter while the parents were taken to detention centers and referred for prosecution. More than 600 children were seperated from their parents and families just in two weeks! No the zero tolerance policy does not relate to ICE or the trending #DEFUNDHATE but it is relevant and I figured you would need some background informaton on recent immigration events. According to Human Rights Watch, "Newly released United States government records summarizing investigations of the deaths of 18 migrants in the custody of US immigration authorities support a conclusion that subpar care contributed to at least seven of the deaths, Human Rights Watch said today." Meaning 7 out of the 18 deaths occured because ICE and CBP agents did not detain and/or hold the migrant with care which lead to their death. Another example is on christmas eve of 2018. The New York Times stated, "An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in United States custody early Christmas Day, the second death of a child in detention at the southwest border in less than three weeks, raising questions about the ability of federal agents running the crowded migrant border facilities to care for those who fall ill." Though the boy did not die from force used by CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) agents, the boy died because he did not recieve the medical attention he needed and CBP was not ensuring the detainess were not falling ill. Our country has been built on democratic values such as human rights. Human rights is probably the largest value our nation has stood by since our founding fathers wrote the constitution. Myself and many americans who are demanding answers, change and reform would all agree that being so careless that people start dying, being so lazy that kids start dying is not moral and is most definetely a contradiction of human rights. I'll let you decide whether or not ICE deserves even one more penny.