Van Hollen Statement on Funding Deal to Reopen TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) made this statement on Senate Republicans finally agreeing to pass a funding bill for the entities within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that do not carry out immigration enforcement while negotiations over reforms to ICE and CBP continue.

“For weeks, we have been urging Republicans to stop blocking funding for TSA, FEMA, CISA, and the Coast Guard and restore pay for these civil servants. After Republicans rejected 14 of our attempts on the Senate Floor to do just that, today they finally relented – but only after their inaction led to worsening chaos at airports across the country and considerable hardship for unpaid federal workers. Also as we demanded, this funding agreement includes no funding for Trump’s ICE and Border Patrol – operations that have instilled fear in communities across the country, violated individuals’ constitutional rights on an unprecedented scale, and left U.S. citizens dead. As I have said repeatedly, I will not support even one more dime for this Administration’s out-of-control immigration agencies so long as their lawlessness and violence continues.”