Immigration Enforcement, Fees, Regulatory Changes Included in Judiciary, DHS Markups
The usual back and forth banter was missing as the House Judiciary Committee marked up its portion of President Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
The recommendations passed the committee on a party line 23-17 vote.
And while Democrats offered amendment after amendment on immigration issues, Republicans remained mostly silent at the nine hour session despite being goaded by Democrats to respond to some of the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
“Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, I hope we can all agree that U.S. citizens should never be detained by ICE or any agency conducting civil immigration enforcement,” said Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). “They certainly should not be deported.”
Instead, Republicans remained largely silent and simply voted against all of the Democratic amendments, which included provisions to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using money to detain U.S. citizens and a provision to prevent funds from being used for immigration enforcement actions in elementary schools.
Package Details
Much of the approved funding goes to immigration enforcement efforts.
That includes $45 billion in detention funding, $8 billion to hire 10,000 additional ICE agents and support staff, and $14 billion in transportation related spending to deport illegal migrants.
It also institutes fees for legal migrants, including a fee of at least $1,000 for asylum and parole applicants and a $500 fee for Temporary Protected Status.
“The American people gave President Trump and House Republicans a mandate to restore immigration integrity, security, and enforcement, and President Trump is carrying out what he told he was gonna do,” said Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) in his opening statement. “The measures in our package are necessary to provide the resources to improve immigration enforcement and regulatory improvement.”
REINS Act Green Light, Antitrust Not Included
Also in the recommendations, is a version of the REINS Act, which would give Congress the power to formally approve agency regulations. REINS Act stands for “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny.”
However, it could also boost President Trump’s power. The REINS Act tasks federal agencies with submitting portions of their rules to Congress for approval for a five-year period. Absent approval the rules would cease to take effect, which is, “in essence, fast-tracking Trump’s deregulatory agenda.
Not included in the final bill is a provision that would have transferred jurisdiction over antitrust work from the Federal Trade Commission to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Homeland Security Committee Markup
There was a similar dynamic at the budget markup session at the House Homeland Security Committee as Republicans largely avoided debate and remained silent.
The recommendations were passed on a party line vote.
They include $46.5 billion to complete President Trump’s border wall and other improvements to border barriers, $6 billion to recruit and retain Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees, and $5 billion to improve CBP facilities.
Once recommendations are approved, they are sent to the House Budget Committee which is tasked with assembling all the draft bills into a massive legislative package.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has sought for his chamber to clear the overall budget bill before the Memorial Day recess. Adhering to that timeline may prove challenging as other committees wrestle with contentious cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other popular programs.