Senator Rand Paul’s Legislation To Fund ICE, DHS Advances To Senate Floor For Full Vote

Chairman Rand Paul’s Package to Fund ICE and Border Patrol Advances to the Senate Floor

Editor’s note: This funding bill was also a way to force through the SAVE America Act, which would severely curtail voting rights by adding a huge amount of red tape and checking to the process, adding specific, citizenship-proving document identification checks in every state, superceding those states’ rights to determine their own election rules.  For instance in New York, a driver’s license is not proof of citizenship suitable to vote if this law were enacted, since non-citizens can receive a driver’s license. It did not pass, at 48-50. Chairman Paul recently hosted a hearing on ICE surges in Minnesota, and now a similar series of incidents is apparently occurring in New Jersey, where groups of detainees, most of whom were following immigration law and were arrested at their own immigration hearings, which they attend by law, are on a hunger strike to protest conditions at the detention center in Newark run by a private company under government contract.  DHS has stated that there is no hunger strike ongoing, but lawyers for the detainees along with advocacy groups assisting them are stating that this is not the case.  We covered this issue in greater detail last week.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Under the direction of Chairman Rand Paul of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) took the lead in crafting a comprehensive funding package last month to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and it is now slated for a full vote by the Senate today.

“Democrats threw up every procedural roadblock imaginable over the last several months to protect their radical open border agenda,” said Chairman Rand Paul. “During last month’s markup, Democrats forced votes on 57 poison pill amendments that were not serious proposals and deliberate attempts to gut the bill. I led the fight, advancing ICE and Border Patrol funding out of my committee to help President Trump keep driving illegal border crossings to historic lows. Yesterday Republicans voted on a united front to advance it to the Senate floor. While Democrats are putting America last by pandering to their extremist base, Republicans stand up for the American people. We will give our law enforcement heroes at DHS, ICE, and Border Patrol the tools they need to do their jobs and help President Trump deliver on his promise.”

Chairman Paul Leads HSGAC Republicans in Advancing DHS Reconciliation Bill to Fund ICE and Border Patrol

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), today led Committee Republicans in advancing reconciliation legislation to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as Democrats continue to obstruct funding for these agencies through the regular appropriations process. The Committee advanced the measure by a vote of 8-5.

Full reconciliation text

Chairman Rand Paul’s Remarks as Delivered:

As I recall, the ranking member, when he was chairman, the ranking member and I did no markup or authorization of DHS. Today we did process 57 amendments, though, and the minority was able to, you know, vent their frustration. I joined many on the minority of saying we should have reform.

Some reforms have happened. Tom Homan went to Minneapolis, and I haven’t seen any news break out there. I haven’t seen people in the street rioting. I think reforms have happened.

I wish we could have come together and announced that these reforms had occurred and that DHS is doing better in this, but instead, the Democrats decided they weren’t going to fund ICE, no matter what. 

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There were discussions. There were discussions of reforms, but they would never come to the table.

I don’t like doing appropriations this way. I think it’s not a good precedent. But the Democrats left us no choice because they said, ‘We will not fund ICE, no matter what you say, because our base is so rabid.’ 

But the thing is, 8 million people came across the border.

This is a real problem. It’s overwhelming our welfare system, overwhelming our hospitals.

We can’t have an open border. I haven’t agreed with everything President Trump has done, but he did control the borders. It’s the best thing that has happened; it’s the best change we have had happen since Biden’s administration.

The border is being controlled, but you have to pay ICE. You have to pay the Border Patrol. So, I’m glad we got this done today.

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agent prepares for docking after morning patrols to counter human trafficking and drug smuggling off the coast of San Diego, Calif., March 12, 2026. Image Credit – CBP photo by Jeff Underwood