DeLauro Statement on Senate Passage of $70 Billion Slush Fund for ICE and Border Patrol with No Oversight
WASHINGTON – Early this morning, the Senate advanced a reconciliation bill to provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol with just under $70 billion with no strings attached, over 4 times their combined annual budgets. If the bill passes, DHS will have received more than $260 billion from Congress in the first two years of the Trump administration. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) issued the following statement:
“Republicans are cutting funding for education, healthcare, energy development, rural infrastructure, public transportation, and countless other programs that support American families struggling with the rising cost of living. At the same time, they are trying to force through another $70 billion for ICE and the Border Patrol, with no oversight, no guardrails, and no accountability. It is shameful.
“As Republicans wrote the bill and fought off amendments at the behest of President Trump, they showed their true priorities. Instead of helping people make ends meet, they attempted to fund a billion dollar ballroom for the president, allow his cronies to steal $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds, and give the president, his family, and their businesses a get out of jail free card.
“Many of the violent criminals who assaulted police officers on January 6 have gone on to commit more crimes after President Trump pardoned them. Meanwhile, law-abiding American citizens are harassed, beaten, detained, and even killed by masked officers at these rogue agencies. If you assault a police officer on behalf of the president, you get a pardon and a payout. If you look at an ICE agent the wrong way, you get beaten and detained. And if you are just trying to keep up with the rising cost of living, too bad, you are on your own. That is the message of this administration and the Republican Congress.
“Democrats will continue to fight for reforms to protect our communities from further abuse by ICE and the Border Patrol. We will not support one more penny for these agencies unless these conditions are met. Our communities and our constituents’ safety depends on it.”
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