WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to block an appropriations bill that would have reauthorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s budget without added oversight or restrictions, following mounting public pressure after a fatal agent-involved incident, according to an ACLU press release.
The vote comes less than a week after a fatal incident involving a federal immigration agent who killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse in Minneapolis, an event that ignited national outrage. His death sparked widespread protests across the country, intensifying pressure on lawmakers to impose limits on ICE and U.S. Border Patrol in response to allegations of corruption and abuse.
According to the press release, more than 280,000 people joined the ACLU in “urging them to reject any bill that would fuel ICE and Border Patrol’s lawless operations.”
The Senate vote also occurred amid broader negotiations over federal spending. According to a Politico press release, lawmakers were considering a six-bill package to fund a large portion of the federal government, including the departments of Homeland Security, State, Defense and Health and Human Services.
Eight Republicans joined all Senate Democrats to block the legislation, which makes up the majority of discretionary federal spending.
Republican Sens. Ted Budd of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Rick Scott and Ashley Moody of Florida voted against the appropriations bill, according to the Politico press release.
The current Department of Homeland Security proposal would provide ICE with $10 billion for the remainder of the fiscal year. The proposal would also require funding for body cameras for agents, improved conflict management training for officers and outside oversight of DHS facilities.
According to the Politico press release, Democrats argued that, even with the proposed reforms, ICE would still receive $10 billion with limited safeguards, leaving the agency largely unchecked.
In the Politico press release, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that “strong legislation to rein in ICE” is essential.
In response, Senate Democrats are pushing for significant reforms. Those reforms include ending “indiscriminate stops and warrantless arrests by ICE, enforceable standards and accountability for violent misconduct by federal agents, and requirements that agents identify themselves and take off their masks,” according to the ACLU press release.
Following the floor vote Thursday, Kate Voigt, a senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said the outcome demonstrated the impact of public pressure. “People made their voices heard and relentlessly called on their senators to rein in ICE’s abuses,” Voigt said in the ACLU press release. “Public opinion is firmly against the violence, chaos, and abuse of our rights being inflicted by the Trump-Vance administration’s cruel mass deportation agenda.”
Voigt concluded with a statement from the ACLU praising the vote. “We applaud the senators refusing to be complicit in these police state tactics,” she said. “Now we need them to insist on real, enforceable changes to rein in ICE and Border Patrol’s increasingly dangerous immigration enforcement operations. These safeguards aren’t just common sense — they’re critical to the integrity of our laws and our freedom.”
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