Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and fellow Democrats are pressing Congress to cut billions in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and redirect the money to restore health care programs affected by President Donald Trump's spending law.

Democrats Target $75 Billion ICE Funding

On Saturday, Sanders announced on X that he is introducing an amendment to "cut ICE's $75 billion funding increase and use those funds to restore health care cuts in Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill.'"

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) highlighted the scale of the funding, noting that DHS received $190 billion under the bill, with $75 billion earmarked for ICE.

She said the spending came at the expense of health care for millions of Americans and led to rural hospital closures. "Congress can — and must — claw that money back," she wrote.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said he voted against DHS funding, arguing that ICE needs to be reined in and overhauled.

"This isn't over. There's another vote in two weeks, so keep calling your senators and representatives to tell them this chaos cannot continue," he wrote.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) went further, calling for ICE to be defunded or abolished. "Anyone who supports funding DHS and ICE is supporting the murder of Americans," he said.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager‑Dove (D-Calif.) criticized the law as "spending our tax dollars to trample on our freedoms, murder U.S. citizens, and terrorize immigrant communities," calling for the $191 billion DHS funding to be rescinded.

Government Shutdown Tied To ICE Funding Fight

Earlier, President Trump blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown, warning it could cost the economy 1.5 GDP points and criticizing their opposition as politically motivated.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R‑Texas) predicted a shutdown was "100%" certain, tied to a dispute over ICE funding.

He said Republicans were ready to shut the government down if their demands were ignored, while noting the impact would be smaller than the previous shutdown since some departments already had funding.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D‑N.Y.) vowed to block a Homeland Security funding bill unless it included major reforms to immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent.

Schumer said administrative fixes were insufficient and urged Congress to act, calling for bipartisan cooperation.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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