05.13.26

Republicans Support Law Enforcement. Democrats Are Still Hung Up on “Defund the Police.”

As a Grateful Nation Honors Law Enforcement Officers This Police Week, a Stark Contrast Remains Between Republicans Backing the Blue and Democrats Returning to Their Old Ways

WHILE REPUBLICANS ADVANCE THE SECURE AMERICA ACT TO FULLY FUND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS, DEMOCRATS CONTINUE THEIR SHAMELESS OPPOSITION TO PAYING OFFICERS WHO KEEP THE COUNTRY SAFE

“My Democrat colleagues refused to provide a single dollar for the men and women who protect our borders. They refused to provide a single dollar for the men and women who take dangerous criminal illegal aliens off of our streets… I shouldn’t need to state the obvious here – that we need border security and immigration enforcement officers to protect our nation, just as we need police officers and FBI agents and Secret Service agents and all of the law enforcement officers who serve our communities.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)

  • The Senate is processing the Secure America Act to fund critical law enforcement functions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, and “Senate GOP leaders are preparing the reconciliation bill for a floor vote the week of May 18.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Johnson, Jeffries and the new political order – 5/11/26)
  • Last month, the Senate advanced a budget resolution that “lays the groundwork” for the Secure America Act to:
    • “Guard against Democrats’ efforts to defund border security”
    • “Keep border crossings at historic lows”
    • “Fund ICE and Border Patrol despite Democrats’ outright refusal to do so” (S.Con.Res. 33: Roll Call Vote #105 – 4/23/26; U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget: Chairman Graham Introduces Targeted FY26 Budget Resolution To Unlock Legislation To Keep Border Secure – 4/21/26)
  • The only reason Republicans have to fund ICE and Border Patrol through reconciliation is Democrats’ anti-law enforcement obstruction:
    • Democrats instigated their second record-breaking government shutdown of the fiscal year, shuttering the Department of Homeland Security, after demanding reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), then walking away from negotiations. (Punchbowl News: AM: Senate passes DHS funding — without ICE and CBP – 3/27/26)
    • While causing pain to civilian workers at ICE and CBP, “Democrats didn’t extract a single significant concession from Republicans, so this was nothing more than a political exercise.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Senate passes DHS funding — without ICE and CBP – 3/27/26; Politico: ‘Six months to catch up’: What the shutdown cost DHS – 5/2/26)
  • In the run-up to advancing this critical law enforcement funding, Senate Democrats made clear their disdain for law enforcement officers and their desire to defund the police:
    • “You’re here, adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody- to two, two, two groups – Border Patrol and ICE – that nobody respects in this country.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
    • “I urge all of my colleagues to oppose, to strongly oppose this reconciliation bill, which is simply an effort to stuff an illegal agency like ICE at the expense of the American people.” – Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
    • “You can bet Democrats will be pushing every single minute to stop this massive waste of time and money…” – Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
    • “Defund and abolish ICE.” – Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)

REPUBLICANS’ LANDMARK WORKING FAMILIES TAX CUTS LAW SUPPORTS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND OFFICERS

  • Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law allocated $750 million in funding for Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) for the “[t]raining of newly hired law enforcement personnel” and “[c]onstruction, maintenance, improvements, and equipping of FLETC facilities.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Grassley Releases Updated Senate Judiciary Text in the One Big Beautiful Bill – 6/27/25)
  • “The bill includes funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne JAG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to support boots-on-the-ground efforts to combat violent crime in local communities. To receive additional funding made available in this package, state and local governments must be in full compliance with federal immigration laws.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)
  • “Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons receives much needed funding to address mounting staff shortages and deferred capital improvements to detention structures.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)
  • “The legislation also supports ICE’s 287(g) program, which helps expand the federal government’s ability to enforce immigration laws through the supervised support of willing state and local law enforcement jurisdictions.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)
  • In addition to making permanent the current tax rates that were lowered thanks to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, law enforcement officers are also benefitting from several tax provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts law:
    • “For many first responders, overtime and off-duty work are essential. [The Working Families Tax Cuts law] allows up to… $12,500 (or $25,000 for married couples) of overtime income to be deducted from federal income taxes.” (Police1: What the One Big Beautiful Bill means for first responders – 9/4/25)
    • Making it easier for law enforcement officers to raise a family, the Working Families Tax Cuts also expanded health savings accounts (HSAs), made permanent the increased child tax credit and indexed it to inflation, and created Trump Accounts to help newborns get a head start on their American Dream. (USA Today: A favorite savings tool of financial advisers gets better with 'One Big Beautiful Bill' – 8/9/25; The Wall Street Journal: Can ‘Trump Accounts’ for Babies Change the Economics of Having a Family? – 12/2/25; The Wall Street Journal: The Hack That Turns Trump Accounts Into Multimillion-Dollar Tax-Free Nest Eggs – 3/23/26)

PRESIDENT TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS SECURED THE BORDER, AND THE WORKING FAMILIES TAX CUTS LAW IS HELPING LAW ENFORCEMENT ENSURE IT STAYS SECURE

  • For the month of March, “the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced U.S. Border Patrol’s 11th consecutive month of zero releases at the southern border, continuing the trend of historically low border crossings.”
    • “The U.S. Border Patrol’s apprehensions along the southwest border in March (8,268) were 90% lower than the monthly average over the last 33 years and 97% below the peak of the Biden administration (December 2023).”
    • “The U.S. Border Patrol’s average number of apprehensions per day along the southwest border in March (267) were 95% lower than the daily average under the Biden administration.”
    • “The number of U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions per day in March was less than a single hour during the height of the Biden administration (336 per hour in December 2023).” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Trump Administration Delivers 11 Straight Months of Zero Releases at the Border – 4/9/26)
  • Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law provided historic funding to secure the border and keep Americans safe, including:
    • “$46.5 billion to complete construction of the border wall.”
    • “$14.4 billion for removal transportation.”
    • “$12 billion in state reimbursements for states that fought against the Biden administration’s open border.”
    • “$4.1 billion to hire additional CBP personnel, including 3,000 more customs officers and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents.”
    • “$3.2 billion for new technology and $2.7 billion for new cutting-edge border surveillance.”
    • “$855 million to expand Customs and Border Protection’s vehicle fleet.”
    • “[F]unding to hire 10,000 new [ICE] agents…”
    • $10,000 bonuses for ICE and Border Patrol agents “for the next four years.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Secretary Noem Commends President Trump and One Big Beautiful Bill Signing into Law: Historic Win for the American People and the Rule of Law – 7/4/25)
  • “To protect America’s communities and clamp down on the flow of deadly drugs like fentanyl, the legislation funds DOJ efforts to combat drug trafficking and precursor chemicals.” (U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Makes America Safe Again – 7/8/25)