ICE & CBP secure funding for immigration enforcement

On Wednesday, President Trump signed a major budget reconciliation bill (S.2, the Secure America Act) into law. The bill provides $70 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol operations through FY2029. The Immigration Accountability Project (IAP) was privileged to join President Trump in the Oval Office for the bill-signing ceremony!

The legislation narrowly cleared the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a 214-212 vote. All Republicans who were present voted in favor of the bill, while all Democrats who were present voted no.

Representatives Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Thomas Kean (R-NJ), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Ralph Norman (R-SC) were not present. (Reps. Mace and Norman were competing in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary, which took place the same day).

This legislative victory comes just a week after IAP led a coalition letter urging Senate Republicans to pass the bill, which they did last week. You can read our full coalition letter here.

What We Are Watching Next

With ICE and Border Patrol funding secured, IAP will be keeping a watchful eye on:

Mass Deportations: Will the Trump Administration now fully execute its promise to conduct the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history? As we have previously shared, the Mass Deportation Coalition has provided administration officials with a comprehensive roadmap to increase deportations. Our playbook delivers a detailed plan for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to achieve at least one million interior deportations in 2026.

The FY2027 Appropriations Battle: How will Congressional Republicans handle DHS funding moving forward? Even though ICE and Border Patrol operations are fully funded through 2029, the rest of DHS is only funded until September of 2026. The House Appropriations Committee began marking up the FY2027 bill this week. Unfortunately, they included in that bill provisions that would increase the number of cheap-labor visas by hundreds of thousands. These are the same provisions IAP successfully got removed from the House DHS appropriations bill last year. Once again, IAP will be working to prevent appropriators from selling out American workers for cheap foreign labor.

Permanently Securing the Border: Will a future president be able to reverse everything Pres. Trump has done to secure our borders? Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has secured a promise from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to hold a vote before the July 4 recess on a bill to codify Pres. Trump’s actions to secure the border and to close the loopholes the Biden Administration exploited. Unless Congress acts, everything Pres. Trump has done through Executive Orders can be undone with the stroke of a pen by a future administration.

Reducing Legal Immigration: Will Congress finally act to implement the will of the American people and protect American workers by eliminating chain migration and the visa lottery, by reining in the H-1B visa and other temporary worker programs, or even by pausing all immigration? Legislation has been introduced in Congress to do all these things, and IAP will continue to educate Representatives and Senators of the need for action.

Rep. Onder climbs, Rep. Kiley slides in IAP Action Immigration Rankings

Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) surged 32 spots in the rankings this week, landing at No. 159 in the House. His move was driven by his vote in favor of the budget reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement, as well as his cosponsorship of the Nuclear Family Priority Act (H.R. 2705). This bill is key legislation aimed at ending chain migration by limiting family-based immigration to spouses and minor children.

Representative Kevin Kiley (I-CA) suffered the largest drop in IAP Action's rankings this week, sliding down to No. 215. The slide was due to his vote against funding for ICE and Border Patrol operations. His cosponsorship of the Ukrainian Adjustment Act (H.R. 3104) also contributed to his slide. This legislation would grant green cards to Ukrainian nationals paroled into the United States under the Biden administration. IAP Action opposes H.R. 3104.

You can view the full Immigration Rankings at IAPAction.com.

NOTE:  We will not be sending a newsletter out next Friday due to conflicting schedules. We’ll be back in your inbox on June 26th.

Immigration Articles

Lyceum: What’s At Stake: The Necessity of Mass Deportations

This article from our friend Ryan Neuhaus argues that mass deportation is a necessary, constitutional, and moderate solution to restore national sovereignty, alleviate fiscal and economic burdens on American workers, and preserve a unified national identity and common civic culture.

CBS: Trump administration launches largest-ever effort to denaturalize U.S. citizens accused of fraud or other crimes

The Trump Administration has launched its largest-ever denaturalization effort, moving to revoke the U.S. citizenship of 17 naturalized individuals accused of securing their status through fraud or concealing serious crimes.

Breitbart: Exclusive: Rep. Chip Roy Leads Republicans to Get Specifics on Deportations from DHS

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is leading a group of House Republicans in demanding a detailed, state-by-state breakdown from DHS regarding the specific locations and exact totals of illegal alien arrests and deportations executed under the Trump Administration. Both Congress and the public deserve to see this data, but DHS has not been forthcoming with it.

Center for Immigration Studies: Welfare Use by Non-Citizens Across States in the U.S.

According to this report from our friends at the Center for Immigration Studies, households headed by illegal aliens and legal noncitizens utilize means-tested welfare programs at substantially higher rates than U.S.-born households across nearly every state, primarily driven by lower average educational attainment and benefits received on behalf of their U.S.-born children. 

Next Week

The House will be out next week, while the Senate remains in town for regular business, primarily handling nominations and trying to figure out how to reauthorize FISA.