Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) voted against legislation to fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies.
What does this bill do? The Senate passed this bill with a vote of 52-47 to provide the two agencies with $70 billion over the next three years. It also functions as a budget reconciliation package.
What lawmakers and commentators are saying:
- Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Senate Republicans delivered yet again by approving $69.5 billion to fund Border Patrol and ICE through President Trump’s entire second term. We were forced to use the reconciliation process because Democrats objected – during the appropriations process – to giving any money to Border Patrol and ICE, effectively shutting our border security down at a time of growing threats to the nation.”
- Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable. Not brutalize and kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families. We strongly oppose the ICE budget reconciliation bill. And will do everything we can to defeat it next week.”
- National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Press Secretary Nick Puglia: “Jon Ossoff has spent months trying to defund the police, proving once again that he would rather protect criminal illegals like Laken Riley’s killer than Georgians. Senate Republicans are making sure law enforcement officers have the resources they need to keep Georgia families safe for years to come.”
Context: The vote on this bill fell largely along party lines. Senate Republicans almost universally supported it, with only Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voting against it.
Senate Democrats universally opposed the bill, characterizing it as an unchecked expansion of executive power.
Sen. Ossoff attempted to amend the bill with a provision that would block health insurance companies from denying necessary care. Senate Republicans voted down this amendment.
Sen. Ossoff has a history of opposing efforts to enforce federal immigration law. In 2020, he attended an online town hall and stated that local law enforcement should not cooperate with federal agencies.
In 2025, Sen. Ossoff also openly opposed the deportation efforts of the Trump Administration and the involvement of Defense personnel to assist the process.
