Van Hollen Statement on Republican Budget Bill to Fuel Trump’s Lawless Mass Deportation Agenda

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on his opposition to Senate Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill to provide tens of billions of dollars in additional funding to ICE and CBP – on top of the record $140 billion Republicans gave to those agencies last year despite the fact that $100 billion of those fund remain unspent as of the end of April. “Americans across the country are faced with skyrocketing gas prices, unaffordable health care costs, and higher prices on everyday essentials. But instead of addressing the priorities of the American people, Senate Republicans are hellbent on providing billions of dollars for Trump’s lawless ICE operations. Today, Senate Republicans once again voted to send tens of billions in taxpayer dollars to Trump’s mass deportation agenda that has caused chaos and instilled fear in our communities and has taken the lives of U.S. citizens. “Adding to their gross abuse of taxpayer dollars, Republicans refused to support our efforts to provide sensible guardrails on these agencies and opposed over 20 amendments to rein in this Administration’s rampant abuse. Their stonewalling included blocking an amendment offered by Senator Cassidy and myself to turn Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund, available to January 6 th insurrectionists and violent criminals, into a compensation fund to support those who defended our Capitol on January 6 th and their families. Senate Republicans also blocked my amendment to prevent violent criminals and those who have committed crimes against children from receiving payouts from the Trump taxpayer slush fund. Republicans’ refusal to stand up for what’s right here is shameful. “The American people deserve a government that puts them first. Today, Donald Trump and the Republican Party once again failed them.”