On the Senate Floor, Cortez Masto Condemns Republicans’ Move to Throw Billions at Out-of-Control Federal Immigration Enforcement

FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) denounced the Republican reconciliation bill that will hand another $70 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. On the Senate floor, she shared firsthand accounts of Dreamers and DACA recipients who have been on the receiving end of these agencies' horrific abuses of power at the direction of President Donald Trump.

Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, I'm here on the floor of the Senate today because Republican leaders in Congress are trying to give billions more in funding to out-of-control federal immigration enforcement agencies that are brutalizing our communities.

I want to be clear about something: we all agree that we need strong border security and that criminals need to face justice. President Trump said his administration would be going after the "worst of the worst".

But what's really been happening is that masked and unidentifiable agents are roaming around, arresting and even killing American citizens, racially profiling Latinos, and deporting Dreamers.

Americans have had enough. They want safe communities, not lawlessness and fearmongering.

That's why my Democratic colleagues and I have been clear since February: you won't get our votes on new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol unless it includes commonsense guardrails to rein in these agencies' abuses.

But over the last several months, President Trump and Republican leadership showed time and time again they're simply not interested in doing the right, or even the popular, thing.

Republicans already gave these two agencies $150 billion in their so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill". They have plenty of money to operate for years to come.

But now, they want to add another $70 billion on top of that.

That multi-billion-dollar check isn't for lowering the price of groceries, energy, health care, or gas.

It's not for bringing back the manufacturing jobs this administration has lost us.

It's definitely not for making our communities safer.

We know that because we're seeing what federal immigration enforcement has been doing with the $150 billion they already got for their mass deportation efforts. Let me tell you, they're not spending it on going after the "worst of the worst".

In March, I stood right here and told 10 stories of Dreamers who have been detained or deported by federal immigration enforcement.

Dreamers and DACA recipients are our neighbors and friends, they're community leaders, teachers, doctors, and small business owners. They are not criminals - in fact, they've had to follow the law to the letter in order to maintain their DACA status.

And yet, I've heard story after story of DACA recipients being detained or deported by ICE and Border Patrol.

Let me tell you some of the stories I've heard, and about how federal immigration enforcement under Donald Trump is choosing to spend their money:

I heard directly from Maria, who had active DACA status but was detained by federal immigration enforcement anyway. She said it was one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. Now, because of this administration's delays in DACA renewals, Maria is afraid her renewal won't come in time for her to heal and rebuild her life.

I also heard from Stephanie, a U.S. citizen who spoke to me on behalf of her husband Juan, who's a DACA recipient. Juan did everything he was supposed to do - he got an education, started a family, and always followed the law.

Just days after Stephanie gave birth to their youngest daughter, Juan was on his way to the NICU to deliver milk for her when he was approached by ICE agents.

Even though he had active DACA status and work authorization, the ICE agents told him it didn't matter as they arrested and detained him. Juan applied for his DACA renewal five months before the deadline, and it still wasn't enough - his DACA status expired while he was in detention.

Stephanie told me, "Trump said DACA recipients would be safe, but that's not true."

Thankfully, just a few days ago, after 3 months in detention, Juan was finally released back to his family and his newborn daughter.

I also heard from Brenda, whose husband Jahasiel is another DACA recipient detained for no reason whatsoever. He had just dropped his kids off at school when ICE detained him, even though he had done nothing wrong. A judge finally ordered ICE to release him because there was no basis to hold him!

Maria, Juan, and Jahasiel are the kinds of people President Trump and Republican leadership want to spend billions of dollars going after.

How does that make sense?

Even the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, those who have sacrificed so much for our country, are having their lives torn apart by federal immigration enforcement.

I recently saw the story of Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano, whose wife, Deisy was arrested by ICE during a routine immigration appointment. Deisy has lived in this country for over 10 years, and she was granted legal protection in 2019.

But on April 14th, despite being the wife of a soldier, she was arrested during a routine appointment with immigration services. Over a month later, Deisy was finally released from custody - thanks in part to public pressure, as well as advocacy from my colleague, Senator Duckworth.

I also saw the story of Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank and his wife Annie Ramos. Annie is a Dreamer who has called the United States home since she was two years old. They were newlyweds, checking in on base to get Annie her military ID and activate her military spouse benefits.

Instead, Annie was detained and threatened with deportation. After advocacy from my Senate colleagues, she's been released - but ICE is still trying to deport her!

I don't think it's controversial to say this is not what immigration enforcement should be spending their time on, and this is not what we should be funding.

That's why my Democratic colleagues and I have been blocking funding for ICE and Border Patrol. It's because of the abuses of power we're seeing.

It has to stop.

We're asking for reforms that are easy to implement and that the majority of Americans want:

• Immigration enforcement can't detain and deport U.S. citizens, especially not based on the way they look.
• Federal agents can't go into someone's home without a judicial warrant.
• Federal agents can't wear masks, they must clearly show their badge numbers, and they must wear body cameras.
• Federal agents must also undergo de-escalation training, just like state and local law enforcement who patrol our communities do.

Nevadans in my state are asking for this. Americans across the country, in both blue and red states, are asking for this.

Local and state law enforcement already abide by these guidelines, and they're the ones who keep our neighborhoods safe every day. Federal law enforcement should be held to the same standards. It's not controversial.

This is an issue my Republican colleagues could have solved months ago. We shouldn't even be here today - it's been four months of Democrats asking for common sense, popular reforms to rein in the President's clearly out of control federal immigration enforcement.

And all the while, Senate Republicans have done nothing to help families, and Americans' prices are skyrocketing thanks to this administration's reckless policies.

The American people deserve better.

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