Senate Passes the Secure America Act

Legislation Funds ICE and CBP, Bolsters Law Enforcement and Homeland Security

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fulfilling their promise to secure the border and prioritize the safety and security of Americans, the U.S. Senate passed the Secure America Act, funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the remainder of President Donald Trump's administration.

The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for final approval before heading to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law.

"For 76 days, Democrats kept the Department of Homeland Security in limbo,"said U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND). "Then they made it crystal clear they'd rather defund law enforcement than defend law enforcement. And under President Trump, America has the most secure border we've ever had, and Republicans refuse to go backward or sacrifice the safety of our law enforcement personnel to Democrats' open-border fantasies. The Secure America Act delivers the immigration security and rule of law that we all promised when we ran and that the American people expect."

Democrats obstructed passage of funding for ICE and CBP, causing a 76-day U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown - the longest in U.S. history - which began on February 14 and ended April 30 after President Trump signed legislation restoring funding for most of the department. After congressional Democrats blocked bipartisan appropriations, Republicans had to use the budget reconciliation process to fund border and immigration agencies.

Cramer's support for the legislation follows his recent travel to the U.S.-Mexico border, where he met with agents and reviewed the dramatic turnaround in border conditions under the Trump administration. During prior visits to the Rio Grande Sector, he witnessed waves of illegal crossings as Border Patrol agents faced record-breaking surges at the southern border during the Biden administration. At the peak of the crisis, DHS reported monthly encounters nearing 160,000, with daily apprehensions climbing as high as 15,000.

Under the Trump administration, illegal crossings are at historic lows. In May, DHS announced the U.S. Border Patrol's 12th consecutive month of zero releases at the border. The rapid and sustained decline in illegal border crossings and apprehensions-now at levels not seen in over three decades-shows the impact of robust enforcement policies. With daily apprehensions down 95% from the previous administration and 15 consecutive months of fewer than 9,000 southwest border apprehensions, the border is more secure than at any point in history.