Van Hollen Statement on Republican Budget Bill to Fuel Trump’s Lawless Mass Deportation Agenda

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on his opposition to Senate Republicans' budget resolution that paves the way for tens of billions of dollars in additional funding to ICE and CBP - on top of the record $140 billion Republicans gave to those agencies last year:

"Today, Senate Republicans once again made their priorities clear: instead of working to lower costs and making everyday life more affordable for Americans, they are hellbent on providing a blank check for Trump's lawless ICE and CBP operations. Their bill wastes tens of billions more taxpayer dollars for a mass deportation agenda that has caused chaos and violence in our communities, taken the lives of two U.S. citizens, and violated the Constitutional rights of individuals on an unprecedented scale. Americans are struggling with skyrocketing gas prices because of Trump's illegal war in Iran, steeper health care premiums after Republicans let ACA tax credits expire, and higher costs on everyday essentials due to Trump's across-the-board tariffs - and yet Senate Republicans are choosing to do a procedural end-run to evade the will of the American people and stuff an already bloated and out-of-control ICE operation with even more taxpayer dollars. This is a failure of Donald Trump and the Republican party to put the American people first - and people will remember the choice they made."