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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions members such as John A. Barrasso.
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April 28, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, as a U.S. Senator, I want to make sure we can keep America safe and secure. People who share that goal also share a common belief. The belief is this: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol have an important mission for our Nation. Their mission is to keep America safe and secure.
At this very moment, these vital Agencies are running out of money. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin has warned that the money will run out by the end of this week. We are just days away from a law enforcement funding shortfall. If ICE and Border Patrol go unfunded, America itself will become less safe.
Last week, Republicans here in the U.S. Senate passed a budget blueprint, and it fully funds these critical Agencies. That budget has now been sent to the House of Representatives. Speaker Johnson has pledged to all of us that he will put it on the floor as soon as tomorrow, and I encourage my colleagues there to pass it without delay. A targeted and focused bill is the right path because it is the quickest path. It funds American law enforcement now. It protects the American people now as well as into the future.
If you believe in secure borders, this bill is for you. If you believe in safe communities, this bill is for you. If you want our law enforcement fully funded for the long term despite the Democrats' best efforts to defund them, this bill is for you.
This bill is also President Trump's bill. A few weeks ago, the President gave it his complete and total endorsement. I was with the President in the Oval Office, and we sat down and went through it. President Trump has been clear. He says he wants this funding bill on his desk. Senate Republicans heard him loud and clear. We stuck together. We passed a budget blueprint. It is one that keeps America safe. Republicans need to continue to stick together to meet the President's deadline.
Every Republican knows why this reconciliation process is necessary. It is necessary because, as President Trump has rightfully said, protecting American citizens is the first duty of government, and it is necessary because, as Senate Democrats continue to demonstrate, protecting American citizens is something that Democrats oppose. They have actively obstructed it.
statement which I found very disturbing. I found it disturbing and also misleading and wrong. The Senator from New York, who just left the floor a few moments ago, stood here and said Republicans are funding “two groups: Border Patrol and ICE,” and he went on to say “that nobody respects in this country.” Those are the words of the minority leader, the Senator from New York. He said nobody respects them in this country. That statement alone is blatantly false. The heroes of ICE and Border Patrol spend their days arresting gang members, seizing fentanyl, and securing the border. The American people know it, and the American people respect it. Americans all across this country honor their service and their sacrifice.
what Americans flat-out reject: It is the Democrats who call to defund the police. It is the Democrats who call to abolish ICE and to abolish our Border Patrol.
That is why today's Democrat Party is the way it is. It is because that is what they stand for. The Democrats would rather protect illegal immigrant criminals than law-abiding U.S. citizens.
The American people voted for secure borders. They voted for safe communities. President Trump and Republicans have delivered. Look at the historic border security accomplishments. What you have seen now under Republican leadership is that zero—absolutely zero—illegal immigrants have been released into our country in nearly a year.
Democrats want to return to the days of open borders. Well, Americans had open borders for 4 years under Joe Biden. It was one of the most dangerous and deadly times in American history. Ten million illegal immigrants flooded into our country. Open borders are a magnet, and they were a magnet and were proven to be a magnet for hardened criminals, for drug dealers, and for terror suspects.
Americans are done with this catch-and-release program. Americans are done with open borders.
ICE and Border Patrol deserve to be paid. ICE and Border Patrol deserve to have the tools, the resources, and the support they need each and every day to carry out their mission. It is time for Congress to fund these heroes who keep our country safe.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.