Washington, D.C. — While everyday Americans struggling to make ends meet receive no relief, congressional Republicans are moving to funnel a blank check worth tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to support the Trump administration’s unpopular and unaccountable mass deportation agenda, with a billion more for his wasteful ballroom project.
Congressional Republicans turbocharged the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda when it approved slush funds with no guardrails for ICE and CBP through the OBBBA in 2025. Since then, the administration’s aggressive, indiscriminate immigration enforcement practices have forced the nation to reckon with the needless deaths of Americans in the streets, widespread detention of people who pose no threat to public safety, and record high deaths in ICE detention. Today, a majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration. Yet, in spite of ICE and CBP retaining more than $103 billion in funds, congressional Republicans are choosing to further fuel Trump’s unaccountable, unpopular mass deportation tactics. The proposed funding package would:
- Provide a massive $70 billion windfall in unaccountable spending
- Provide $1 billion in taxpayer money for Trump’s unpopular ballroom project
- Add a slush fund for the Department of Justice that lacks any guardrails on using funds to target political opponents
- Decimate public safety by failing to stop the administration from continuing to divert vital law enforcement resources
- Do nothing to stop ICE’s dangerous tactics, fuel family separations, and massively increase unsafe immigrant detention
“Congressional Republicans are choosing to double down on the Trump administration’s unpopular, reckless tactics instead of supporting commonsense measures to make Americans safer,” said Debu Gandhi, senior director of Immigration Policy at American Progress. “All members of Congress should listen to Americans’ concerns and stop adding billions in taxpayer dollars to further the Trump administration’s ideological crusades.”
“American communities are living with the chaotic consequences of these reckless policies,” said Rosa Barrientos-Ferrer, senior policy analyst for Immigration Policy at American Progress. “In addition to fomenting fear and violence in communities across the country, the Trump administration’s tactics have led to family separation, the detention of people with no criminal record and avoidable deaths in detention. It’s time to put the safety of Americans first.”
Read: “Congressional Republicans Recklessly Bill Taxpayers for the Trump Administration’s ICE and CBP Slush Fund and Wasteful Ballroom” by Rosa Barrientos-Ferrer, Ben Greenho, Debu Gandhi, and Silva Mathema.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Rafael Medina at [email protected].