April 24, 2026 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Member of the Senate Budget Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, denounced Senate Republicans’ actions to bypass the appropriations process to hand ICE and CBP an additional $140 billion to continue terrorizing communities across the United States.

ICE Recruitment graphic

“Instead of addressing high costs for working families as they get squeezed at the gas pump, at the grocery store, and at the pharmacy, Republicans remain obsessed with giving another $140 billion to lawless immigration agencies that are still sitting on $103 billion in unspent funds from last year’s Big Ugly Bill. This reckless budget resolution does nothing to help families struggling to make ends meet, adds tens of billions of dollars to the national debt, and does nothing to rein in Donald Trump’s unauthorized war in Iran, which is costing taxpayers $1 billion a day. It remains clear, Republicans continue to put billionaires and lawless agencies over hardworking families and fiscal responsibility.”

Republicans voted down every single Democratic amendment aimed at lowering costs for American families, including for lower health care costs, groceries, school meals, electricity, and housing.

Padilla also forced a vote on his amendment that would have rejected giving more funding to agencies that are sitting on funding from previous reconciliation bills — like ICE and CBP, which still have $103 billion left over from President Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending law last summer. Republicans defeated the amendment 52-46.

Source: Senator Alex Padilla