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DISSENTING VIEWS OF COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY DEMOCRATS <br /> May 7, 2025 <br /> During the markup of the House Republican reconciliation package, Homeland Security <br /> Committee Democrats offered 34 amendments that addressed a range of concerns ignored in the <br /> disastrous underlying legislation, which was the Committee's piece of the larger, extreme Trump <br /> agenda, containing $7 trillion in giveaways to billionaires and big corporations and $880 billion <br /> in cuts to Medicaid. <br /> The amendments—which ranged from prohibiting the Trump administration from illegally <br /> deporting U.S. citizens to upholding the supremacy of the Supreme Court to prohibiting cuts to <br /> the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), among many others—addressed the <br /> Trump administration's abuse of its mass deportation agenda that has sent American citizen <br /> children with cancer to South America; its dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security <br /> (DHS); and its blatant mismanagement of the Department since taking office in January 2025. <br /> Committee Republicans could neither promote nor defend their legislation or their party's <br /> administration. They chose silence instead. <br /> On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, Committee Democrats fought for due process for migrants and <br /> American citizens alike. We fought for a strong DHS that did not ignore its responsibilities to <br /> keep Americans safe. We fought against handouts to billionaires and budget cuts for victims of <br /> disasters. We fought for our communities and the rule of law. <br /> Republicans, meanwhile, leaned back in their chairs for more than 5 hours and waited in <br /> deafening silence to rubber stamp the worst excesses of a Trump administration that has proven <br /> it cannot be trusted. They waited to approve tens of billions of funds for a border wall President <br /> Trump once claimed would be paid for by Mexico. <br /> Having rejected all the Democratic amendments during the Committee's consideration of this <br /> fast-tracked legislation, we implore our colleagues to do a little soul searching before voting to <br /> advance this legislation any further. We continue to believe that our country is better than what is <br /> represented in a bill that provides tax cuts for billionaires while denying the most vulnerable <br /> basic healthcare. <br /> Deportations <br /> Committee Democrats put forward dozens of amendments to protect the American people as the <br /> Trump administration recklessly and cruelly implements its mass deportation agenda. Under <br /> President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem, DHS is detaining and deporting American children <br /> with terminal cancer, punishing students for engaging in protected First Amendment activity, and <br /> denying due process to individuals, including those in the country legally. <br /> Ranking Member Thompson offered an amendment to prevent funds in the legislation from <br /> being used to remove American citizens from the United States, except for compliance with <br /> treaty obligations and Federal extradition laws and policies. Committee Republicans <br /> 1 <br />