Discontent with immigration enforcement in the United States is reaching a peak – and now, Senate Republicans are hoping to further fund ICE.
A proposal from Senator Chuck Grassley would allocate some $30,725,000,000 for the under-fire government department until 2029.
The controversial agency has killed two Americans and split up thousands of families during Trump’s deportation push.
In January, the killings of two American citizens by immigration officers led to fears over the government’s heavy-handed tactics. In the weeks that followed, ICE arrests across the country dropped on average by nearly 12%.
Polling has found the general public felt the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota went too far, a factor that may have contributed to the abrupt firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March.
Despite the outrage, the new funding push would help hire, train and fund salaries for personnel.
‘Republicans won’t allow our country to be dragged backwards by Democrats’ radical, anti-law enforcement agenda,’ the proposal said.
‘The Senate Judiciary Committee is taking action to help provide certainty for federal law enforcement and safer streets for American families. We will work to ensure this critical funding gets signed into law without unnecessary delay.’
The proposal also includes $1,000,000,000 in funding for the US Secret Service, in relation to security work around Trump’s beloved White House ballroom.
The funding would provide a lifeline for the agency, which has been filling in at airports to cover TSA agents who haven’t been paid during the lingering partial government shutdown.
ICE officers have been helping with queue management and crowd control, inside domestic terminals only.
The department has already gone through upheaval in recent months, after Trump fired the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Her response to a question from the House and Senate about a multi-million dollar ad campaign which encouraged immigrants to self-deport left the president ‘pissed’, one source claimed.
Noem claimed Trump knew about the ad campaigns, which White House officials quickly rebuked.
She also faced pressure for the statement she released after ICE agents shot and killed American citizen Alex Pretti in Minnesota, and American citizen Renee Good.
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