04.15.26

Republicans Will Not Let Democrats Defund Border Security

After Enabling the Biden Administration’s Historic Border Crisis, Democrats Are Now Forcing Republicans to Use a Targeted Reconciliation Bill to Fund the Agencies That Work to Keep America’s Borders Secure

WHILE DEMOCRATS HAVE REFUSED TO FUND ALL OF DHS AND PAY THOSE WHO WORK TO SECURE AMERICA’S BORDERS, REPUBLICANS WILL ENSURE THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO KEEP DOING THEIR JOBS

“Thanks to our foresight in the Working Families Tax Cuts, immigration enforcement and border security are funded through the end of this fiscal year. But it is clear we can’t rely on Democrats to fund law enforcement when it comes time to pass fiscal year 2027 funding in September. And so Republicans are going to take up a reconciliation bill to fund border security and immigration enforcement for the next three years.” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)

  • “Democrats won’t vote for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] spending…” (Punchbowl News: AM: Reconciliation 2.0: Challenges, Opportunities and Tensions – 4/2/26)
  • Senate Democrats blocked extending funding for DHS 16 times during their over 60-day shutdown and have refused to fund ICE and CBP through either the bipartisan appropriations process or through continuing resolutions. (Fox News: Senate passes bill to fund most of DHS after House GOP caves – 4/2/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #38 – 2/12/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #39 – 2/24/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #47 – 3/5/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #54 – 3/12/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 30 – 2/12/26; The Hill: Senate Democrats block bill to fund DHS, spurning increased GOP pressure – 3/5/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 45 – 3/11/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 46 – 3/12/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 49 – 3/18/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record – Vol. 172 No. 50 – 3/19/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #59 – 3/20/26; H.R. 7147: Roll Call Vote #71 – 3/25/26; U.S. Congress: Congressional Record Vol. 172 No. 56 – 3/25/26)
  • “Senate Republican leaders feel like they’re in a good position as they embark on a budget reconciliation effort to fund ICE and CBP for multiple years.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Welcome Back! – 4/13/26)
  • “This would keep the agencies on autopilot until Trump’s term ends in 2029, GOP insiders say, even if Democrats win control of the House and/or Senate in November.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Reconciliation 2.0: Challenges, Opportunities and Tensions – 4/2/26)

DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO DEFUND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO UNDO REPUBLICANS’ SUCCESSFUL BORDER SECURITY POLICIES

“Eleven straight months of ZERO releases at the border. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history. The world knows America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers.” – Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin

  • Every single Senate Democrat last year voted against the Working Families Tax Cuts law, which provided billions in funding for the Trump administration’s plan to secure the border in response to President Biden’s border crisis. (H.R. 1: Roll Call Vote #372 – 7/1/25; The Washington Post: Trump vs. Biden on immigration: 12 charts comparing U.S. border security – 7/28/24)
    • During President Biden’s tenure, there were 10.5 million migrant encounters along the southwest border, including known gotaways. (CBP: Southwest Land Border Encounters – accessed 4/15/26; Fox News’ Bill Melugin: post on X – 8/20/24)
  • By contrast, in March of this year, CBP announced that for the 11th consecutive month, zero people were released at the southern border. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Trump Administration Delivers 11 Straight Months of Zero Releases at the Border – 4/9/26)
  • U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions along the southwest border in March were 8,268, “97% below the peak of the Biden administration (December 2023).” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Trump Administration Delivers 11 Straight Months of Zero Releases at the Border – 4/9/26)
  • “The daily apprehensions along the southwest border have also fallen to about 230 per day, CBP said, which is a number the U.S. has never seen.” (Fox News: CBP releases March border crossing numbers, marking lowest to date ever recorded – 4/1/26)
  • “March's numbers… represent a dramatic drop compared to the monthly average of 155,000 during the Biden administration. Under former President Joe Biden, border agents frequently recorded over 7,000 border crossings per day.” (Fox News: CBP releases March border crossing numbers, marking lowest to date ever recorded – 4/1/26)
  • This was also the “14th consecutive month of fewer than 9,000 southwest border apprehensions.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Trump Administration Delivers 11 Straight Months of Zero Releases at the Border – 4/9/26)

AT EVERY TURN, DEMOCRATS FOLLOWED THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S LEAD IN OPPOSING MEASURES TO SECURE THE BORDER, LEADING TO A HISTORIC BORDER CRISIS

  • “Soon after being sworn in, Mr. Biden issued a 100-day pause on deportations. He drastically narrowed the categories of unauthorized immigrants targeted for arrest. He directed his government to stop building the border wall, a centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s agenda. He suspended Remain in Mexico. He sent draft legislation to Congress to create a citizenship pathway for people in the country illegally.” (The New York Times: How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration – 12/7/25)
    • Every Senate Democrat in the 117th Congress voted against ensuring the enforcement of the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. (S.Amdt. 651 to S.Con.Res. 5: Roll Call Vote #51 – 2/5/21)
    • The “Remain in Mexico” policy was instituted by the first Trump administration and directed migrants waiting for asylum cases to be heard to remain in Mexico, but was dismantled in the first days of the Biden administration. (NPR: Biden Suspends Deportations, Stops 'Remain In Mexico' Policy – 1/21/21)
    • Every Senate Democrat in the 117th Congress voted against providing $500 million for construction of fences and barriers along the southern border. (S.Amdt. 5435 to H.R. 5376: Roll Call Vote #320 – 8/7/22)
    • Every Senate Democrat in the 118th Congress voted to table an amendment prohibiting federal funding for sanctuary cities that refuse to notify the Department of Homeland Security when illegal aliens in local custody are due to be released. (S.Amdt. 1706 to H.R. 2882: Roll Call Vote #110 – 3/23/24)
  • It also required a Republican-controlled Congress and President Trump in the White House to pass commonsense legislation cracking down on criminal illegal aliens inside the country, such as the Laken Riley Act.
    • Every Senate Democrat in the 118th Congress voted against consideration of the Laken Riley Act. (H.R. 2882: Roll Call Vote #113 – 3/23/24)
    • But with a Republican-run government, “President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law on [January 29, 2025], marking the first piece of legislation to become law in his second administration.” (Fox News: Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law as first legislative victory in new administration – 1/29/25)
    • “The measure, which advanced through the House and Senate in January, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants arrested or charged with theft-related crimes, or those accused of assaulting a police officer. The law also allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration.” (Fox News: Trump signs Laken Riley Act into law as first legislative victory in new administration – 1/29/25)