Rep. Grijalva Reacts to Passage of Republican DHS Funding Bill

Washington, D.C. — Representative Adelita S. Grijalva released the following statement today after House Republicans passed a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that hands another $70 billion to ICE and CBP, adding to the $170 billion already provided under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. For context, ICE’s normal annual budget is around $9.97 billion and CBP’s total annual budget is normally around $18.4 billion.
"There always seems to be money for Trump’s mass deportation agenda, but never enough for the needs of working people,” said Rep. Grijalva. “The fear and chaos we're seeing in our neighborhoods, the separation of families, and the abduction and removal of DACA recipients and others who are lawfully present in this country are all the direct result of Republicans continuing to pour billions into this lawless agency. This bill gives ICE and CBP another $70 billion on top of the $170 billion they already received from the Big Ugly Law, with zero measures and guardrails for accountability. It also does nothing to prevent Trump from using his $1.8 billion slush fund to make payments to January 6 th insurrectionists.”
The bill's passage comes after Rep. Grijalva introduced two amendments aimed at increasing accountability surrounding sexual misconduct within DHS and protecting vulnerable children in ICE detention. Her first amendment would ensure DHS cannot use taxpayer dollars to violate longstanding protections for children in federal custody under the Flores Settlement, which stipulates minimum treatment and placement standards, including that children cannot be held for more than 20 days. Recent reports show that DHS routinely violates these protections.
The second would withhold the new funds until DHS reports to Congress on the actions it has taken to address allegations of sexual misconduct involving ICE and CBP personnel. This follows reports of allegations of widespread sexual violence and abuse within the agencies.
“These amendments were about protecting children and addressing disturbing allegations of sexual abuse within ICE and CBP. The fact that Republicans rejected them while rubber-stamping billions more for Trump's mass deportation machine with zero oversight tells you everything you need to know about their priorities," said Rep. Grijalva .
See her video statement here .
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