See below for statements from US House Democrats from Virginia on their votes against the FY 2026 funding bill for DHS. Their reasoning, in short, was as follows:
Vindman Stands Up for Safety & Security, Votes Against Bill That Could Fund Stafford ICE Mega Detention Center
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Representative Eugene Vindman (D-Va.-07) released the following statement after voting against the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill.
“My family and I came to this country as a refugee fleeing Soviet Ukraine with just $800 in our pockets, and sadly, my story is no longer possible in Trump’s America. We are a country of immigrants and let me be clear: we can have secure borders without being cruel.
“After conversations with the Stafford community about a proposed ICE mega detention center that could house up to 10,000 detainees, it is clear that this would be cruel to the core and unacceptable in our community.
“I am also particularly concerned about the life, health, and safety in and around these detention centers. To date, I have received zero
BACKGROUND
Last year in July 2025, DHS received $150 billion under H.R. 1, which is now being used to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with zero accountability or oversight from the Republican-held Congress.
In early January, Vindman secured more than $2.75 million in federal funding for law enforcement and public safety projects in Virginia’s Seventh District as part of a U.S. House-passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bill.
Beyer Opposes Appropriations Minibus
January 22, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today issued the following statement on his votes in the U.S. House against both pieces of the FY26 appropriations “minibus,” including the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act:
“The Department of Homeland Security under Donald Trump and Kristi Noem is a lawless, corrupt organization that is bringing violence and mayhem to peaceful American communities. ICE, CBP, and other DHS entities are pursuing a mission to sow division and fear that is inflicting unimaginable cruelty on law-abiding immigrants and even U.S. citizens, sadly exemplified by the murder of Renee Good. They are engaging in deeply unlawful conduct, including breaking into homes without proper warrants, refusing to comply with court rulings, and blocking Congress from conducting meaningful oversight. DHS is fundamentally broken and completely out of control, and I certainly will not vote to fund their systematic violations of the Constitution.
“The other appropriations bills contained in the minibus have good elements, particularly in the provisions funding health research and aviation safety. But the Trump Administration is already threatening to withhold appropriated funding from numerous states Trump lost in 2024, including Virginia, after this legislation passes. I cannot support a funding deal that is premised on bad faith and punishing Virginians for exercising their right to vote. The absence of clear language barring further federal purges will also put my constituents’ jobs at risk. This bill will, I fear, lead to renewed illegal and unconstitutional acts by Trump and Russ Vought that do extensive harm to Virginia.
“I also cannot support passing a defense funding bill without sufficient guardrails under a president who is making overt threats to invade numerous countries and who is increasingly untethered from our national interests and security. The massive cuts of billions from the IRS further imperil our nation’s fiscal outlook, while making life even easier for wealthy tax cheats. And after promising a vote on restoring funding for the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, which hundreds of constituents contacted me to support, Republicans simply refused to honor their agreement. The bad elements in this bill outweigh the good ones, and that is why I voted no.”
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McClellan Statement on Funding ICE and the Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after she voted against H.R. 7147, which provides funding to the Department of Homeland Security and, by extension, Immigration and Customs Enforcement:
“This past year has seen alarming and horrific breaches of fundamental constitutional rights at the hands of ICE. Overly aggressive agents have entered homes without a warrant; detained people — including citizens — without due process, some in horrendous conditions; terrorized immigrant communities and shed the blood of American citizens. In Virginia’s Fourth, I hear from communities in Chesterfield, Henrico, Petersburg, Richmond and beyond about ICE escalating its tactics to the detriment of public safety and civil liberties.
“None of this has served to make us safer, and this disturbing pattern of behavior demands drastic action. Yet today’s bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security does not go nearly far enough to rein in an out-of-control ICE and hold it accountable for the chaos and fear it has unleashed. I voted no.
“The DHS funding bill does allocate additional funding for body cameras, limit the Department’s transfer authority and provide robust support for FEMA. While these provisions are encouraging, they fall short of addressing the lack of transparency and widespread impunity afforded to ICE by the Trump Administration — and the moral rot it has allowed to fester.
“The bare minimum requires that we protect our communities from operations that make people afraid to leave their houses and erode trust in our local and state law enforcement. ICE agents cannot be allowed to ignore the Constitution and do as they please, dragging people into the streets and even killing them. I stand alongside all those who have continued to sound the alarm on ICE’s lawlessness and will continue to advocate for measures that will restrict and end this Administration’s heightened campaign of terror.”
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Scott Statement on Opposition to the FY 2026 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on his opposition to H.R. 7147, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026:
“Americans have witnessed deeply troubling abuses of authority by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE agents have arrested and detained American citizens and legal permanent residents, pulling people from their cars, homes and workplaces without warrants or probable cause.
“The appropriate congressional response should be to hold oversight hearings to force administration officials to explain their actions in public until they are held accountable for their behavior. Regrettably, neither the Committees on Homeland Security, Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, nor the Judiciary has held a single hearing on these abuses or the killing of Renee Good, an American citizen, by an ICE agent. According to public reports, the administration is not conducting any investigation of that ICE agent, but they are investigating Ms. Good’s widow. Instead of welcoming a transparent independent investigation, the Trump Administration has obstructed Minnesota officials from opening their own inquiry and the Secretary of Homeland Security prematurely labeled Ms. Good a ‘domestic terrorist’ without any investigation or apparent evidence.
“In the absence of any hearings or investigations by the administration, Democrats are left with only the appropriations process to address oversight of these unprecedented abuses of power. Accordingly, I will oppose the funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security until such time as these abuses cease.”
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