Six Democratic senators want billions in ICE funding redirected to other law enforcement agencies

A New Mexico senator is pushing for billions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding to go toward other law enforcement agencies.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., is one of six Senate Democrats who this week introduced the PUBLIC SAFETY Act, which would redirect close to $75 billion from ICE toward local law enforcement agencies. The bill could have a tough path to passage, given Democrats are the minority in the Senate and House and immigration enforcement is a priority for President Donald Trump.

ICE has come under increased scrutiny after a federal immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minnesota last week. House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee announced a probe of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s actions on Thursday. Dozens of Democrats in the House, including New Mexico’s representatives, have signed on to three articles of impeachment against Noem. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the impeachment push "silly."

Increased immigration enforcement was a pillar of Trump’s 2024 campaign, and Congress boosted ICE funding by billions last year with the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

“The unprecedented funding for ICE will enable my hard-working officers and agents to continue making America safe again by identifying, arresting and removing criminal aliens from our communities,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement after the funding passed.

Increased federal immigration enforcement in cities like Portland, Chicago and Minneapolis has sparked protests.

“We’ve seen how this administration has chosen to use these funds to weaponize ICE against our communities — and that doesn’t make anyone safer,” Heinrich said in a statement.

The PUBLIC SAFETY Act would reallocate $45 billion from ICE meant for increasing detention capacity to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. The Byrne JAG program is the leading source of federal justice system funding for states and local agencies. It provides federal dollars for a wide range of criminal justice activities, like law enforcement, indigent defense, prosecution, crime prevention, corrections and drug treatment and enforcement.

More than $4 million has been awarded in New Mexico through the Byrne JAG program over the last five years, the bulk of it to the state’s Department of Public Safety, according to grant data.

The legislation would also reallocate $29.8 billion from ICE enforcement and operations to the COPS Hiring program, which could fund hiring more than 200,000 police officers across the country. That proposed influx in funds would allow the COPS Hiring Program to waive its 25% cost-share requirement for small local and tribal law enforcement agencies and police departments.

The bill would not affect the $10 billion Congress allocated in annual appropriations for ICE, which is similar to the funding level ICE had the previous fiscal year.