OPPOSING THE ICE BUDGET BILL

On 2026-06-08, Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44) delivered a floor speech titled "OPPOSING THE ICE BUDGET BILL" in the House.

OPPOSING THE ICE BUDGET BILL

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026)] [House] [Page H3914] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] OPPOSING THE ICE BUDGET BILL (Ms. Barragan of California was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, families are struggling to pay for groceries, gas, rent, and healthcare. What are Republicans doing? They are bringing a budget to the floor this week to give ICE and Border Patrol another $70 billion blank check--no guardrails, no oversight, no accountability. Not a single dollar in this bill covers the cost of living for Americans. Not a single dollar makes life more affordable for working families. Instead, Republicans are spending billions to bankroll Donald Trump's cruelty and corruption. At the same time, they are letting Trump keep a $1.8 billion slush fund that can be used to reward political allies and advance his own agenda. This is not fiscal responsibility. This is the betrayal of the American people. We have already seen where these priorities lead. Republicans cut healthcare. They cut food assistance for children, for seniors, and veterans, all while protecting giveaways for the wealthy. Now they want Americans to pay for more masked ICE agents to brutalize our communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant families. Communities across the country are demanding accountability. Instead, Republicans are writing another blank check. House Democrats are fighting to lower costs and make Americans lives safer, healthier, and more affordable while holding this administration accountable. Congress should be lowering costs. We should be helping working people. We should be holding this administration accountable, and that is why House Democrats reject this reckless budget. Fighting Back Against the Dismantling of the Voting Rights Act Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say I dissent. I strongly dissent. I join Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson in their dissent in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision that seeks to demolish the Voting Rights Act. As Justice Kagan stated: ``the Court's decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity.'' Make no mistake, this is an attack on fair representation. Republican-led southern States have wasted no time to redraw their districts to eliminate any Democratic representation. In some extreme cases, they have canceled elections that already started. Just last week, the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to eliminate a whole majority Black district, essentially reversing its previous opinions. Whether you are in a majority Black district or not, this impacts all of us. Right now, they are targeting Black representation in the South, but tomorrow it could be a blue district in any State. This is about fair representation, and it is about our democracy. Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated in her dissent, the Court ``debases the democratic process'' and ``corrodes the rule of law by rewarding Alabama's gamesmanship and outright defiance of Court orders.'' Republicans know they have to rig the maps in November to win because they cannot run on their failed policies, policies which have led to high gas prices and made life more expensive. People shed blood and some died for the right to vote for fair representation. We need to come together now to fight for our voting rights. Black, Latino, Asian American, White, and all communities need to unite in one mission: to protect democracy. We must guarantee that every American has an equal voice in our democracy and an equal opportunity to elect Representatives who represent their constituents' interests. When Democrats regain the House, we will work to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore voting protections to guarantee fairness and equal representation in our elections. This is about preserving the promise of American democracy itself. I call on every American to organize, to educate your friends, neighbors, and colleagues on what is at stake and to vote. As we head into November, House Democrats will work with the civil rights and voting rights advocates, legal experts, and grassroots organizers to defend American democracy. When people come together to fight for justice, history shows us that justice ultimately wins, and Democrats will never stop fighting for it. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personality toward the President. ____________________