By Sen. Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on March 27 after Senate Republicans agreed to Senate Democrats’ demand to fund agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that are not responsible for immigration enforcement — including the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and U.S. Coast Guard.
Heinrich and Senate Democrats have made 14 attempts to fund the TSA, FEMA, CISA, and Coast Guard, but Senate Republicans blocked every effort. Heinrich has stated that he will not fund DHS’ immigration enforcement efforts without any commonsense reforms to address lawlessness by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“From the start, I’ve been clear: we must fund TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard,” Heinrich said. “Instead, Republicans dragged out a shutdown of those entities for 41 days — forcing TSA agents to go without pay and sending Americans’ travel into turmoil — before finally agreeing to fund the parts of DHS not responsible for immigration enforcement. That chaos was entirely avoidable.
“These appropriations are a step in the right direction. And my position remains the same: I will not support funding ICE without real reforms and a restoration to the rule of law. This agency must be held to the same standards as every local law enforcement department in New Mexico and across this country.”
