Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in vehement opposition to giving one more red cent to ICE and CBP until we see accountability and reforms in this DHS funding bill. Under Secretary Noem's and President Trump's action, ICE and CBP have turned from law enforcement agencies into something much more dark and much more sinister.

Americans are scared by masked agents roaming our streets arresting anyone in eyesight whom they deem to be a threat, not a court of law. They are terrified that they could be the next Renee Good or one of the many who have died in for-profit detention camps. They worry about sending their kids to school or doing right by the law and attending routine immigration hearings.

It cannot continue. Today, Congress has a chance to act.

Now, I understand that there are some decent parts to this bill unrelated to ICE or the CBP. However, giving more taxpayer dollars to fund this wave of violence without accountability for past abuses and reforms to prevent more tragedies is not just a mistake, it is complicity.

Instead, we need courage, courage to demand guardrails that every single America can support. When there is a shooting or another abuse, an independent investigation should be standard.

Mr. Speaker, when ICE kicks down your door, a warrant signed by a judge must be present. If you are speaking Spanish, Mr. Speaker, or have skin color that is other than white, you should not be detained just because of how you look or the language you speak.

Mr. Speaker, should you encounter an immigration officer, they should no longer be able to shield themselves from accountability behind a face mask.

In the United States of America, nobody should feel like they have to carry a passport in their own country to prove that they are a citizen or a legal permanent resident. No American should be made, Mr. Speaker, to carry a passport in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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