Bishop William Barber: ICE Raids and Shredding of Social Safety Net Are Linked

"So, they hit North Carolina with ICE raids, and they hit North Carolina with ICE raids right at the same time people are raising concerns about Medicaid and healthcare and racist voter redistricting. And some people think that that means what we have to do is go to the ICE raids and forget about the other things. But what we know in this movement is it all connects."

""What you have is a conglomerate of policy violence, and it's deadly," says Barber, who is organizing protests against ICE and Medicaid cuts across the country. Barber notes that 51,000 people may die from preventable deaths because of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. "This is not just about Democrat and Republican and left versus right. This is literally about life versus death.""

Federal agents arrested 370 people in immigration raids in North Carolina, prompting widespread protests. Religious leaders gathered in Charlotte to demand an end to ICE raids and to connect immigration enforcement with healthcare, Medicaid cuts, and racist voter redistricting. Bishop William Barber is organizing protests against ICE and Medicaid cuts across the country and frames these policies as interrelated sources of harm. Research from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale is cited estimating that about 51,000 people may die from preventable deaths because of the Big Beautiful Bill. Organizers characterize the policy suite as life-or-death rather than partisan.

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