June 13, 2026

Dear Friends,

I have long believed that a budget is more than a set of numbers on a sheet of paper — it is a statement of our values and our priorities. The American people entrust their representatives with sound stewardship of their tax dollars, and every public servant has a responsibility to honor that trust by utilizing those funds for the benefit of those they serve. But over and over again this Congress, we have seen Republicans betray that confidence, whether by slashing essential health care coverage for millions or by spending billions on a senseless war in Iran that has raised prices for families across the nation. This week, we witnessed yet another GOP betrayal as congressional Republicans forced through a budget reconciliation bill that delivers tens of billions more to the ICE agents terrorizing our families, neighbors, and loved ones.

For nearly 17 months, Donald Trump’s army of masked ICE agents has unleashed a campaign of brutality and fear on communities across the nation. In January, we saw the full force of ICE’s cruelty in Minneapolis, where agents brutally murdered Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti and abducted hundreds of people — including five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father on their way home from school. Even after the end of “Operation Metro Surge” in Minneapolis, ICE agents have continued to act with total impunity, entering the homes of suspected undocumented people without warrants and keeping thousands of our neighbors detained in nightmarish conditions in places like Delaney Hall. No community has been spared from this violence and brutality, including our own Capital Region — where a 4-year-old girl and her father were detained and separated from their family in Albany just weeks ago.

ICE’s campaign of tyranny has been made possible by the extraordinary amounts of funding shoveled its way by Republicans in Congress. Last summer, the so-called “Big, Ugly Bill” allocated $140 billion for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) — equivalent to nearly 6 years of normal funding for those agencies. With that provision, GOP lawmakers intended to entrench ICE and its brutal enforcement actions as a permanent fixture in our nation — placing its operations out of reach for future Congresses to restrain. But even that unprecedented appropriation was not enough for Republicans. The budget bill they passed this week will add another $70 billion to ICE and CBP’s coffers, giving the agencies a total of $210 billion in extra cash to continue tearing apart our communities.

Prior to ICE’s creation in 2003, other federal agencies worked to enforce our immigration laws while focusing on actual criminal threats — not fulfilling arbitrary deportation quotas and causing fear and chaos in our streets. It is clear to a majority of Americans that what ICE is doing is not enforcing the law; it is imposing terror, often with deadly consequences. So while Republicans keep funneling billions of taxpayer dollars to an agency that has lost all public trust and legitimacy, I will continue to stand with our neighbors in calling for ICE to be abolished once and for all. Only by ending ICE’s reign of terror can we build a nation where no American has to live their lives in constant fear. Until that day comes, my Democratic colleagues and I will keep fighting tirelessly to provide rigorous oversight, real transparency, and enforceable guardrails on this lawless organization.

The GOP’s outrageous decision to billions more taxpayer dollars on ICE comes at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report showed inflation skyrocketing to 4.2% — a development driven largely by a stunning 23.5% increase in energy costs due to President Trump’s war in Iran. If Republicans actually cared about the lives of the people they represent, they could have invested this $210 billion in programs that would have eased the pressure on American families — like funding a decade of free, universal preschool for 4-year-olds, expanding rental and home buying assistance, or providing nutritional assistance to WIC recipients for more than 20 years. Regrettably, Republicans have chosen to spend that money brutalizing their communities instead of revitalizing them.

With this latest budget legislation, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have shown us exactly where their priorities lie. They don’t care about inflation or the impact it has on your family. They don’t care about the thousands of innocent families torn apart by their masked army of ICE agents. The only thing they care about is advancing Trump’s cruel, corrupt agenda — even if it makes their own constituents suffer. That’s why in the months to come, I’ll be working harder than ever to serve as your voice in Washington — because the American people deserve representatives who fight for them.

As always, thank you for reading.

Your friend,

DID YOU KNOW?

My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from governments and agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:

• With Americans across the nation casting their ballots this year and exercising their fundamental right to vote, I’m hearing more and more concerns from voters about the safety of our elections and the steps being taken to ensure fair elections across the country.
• That’s why this Tuesday, June 16^th at 7:00 PM, I’m bringing together voting rights experts and advocates to host a virtual webinar on protecting our elections.
• During the discussion, our panelists will provide updates on their work and offer information on how you can get involved to ensure trustworthy elections.
• If you’re interested in joining us for this important conversation, you can register for the webinar and submit your questions for our panelists HERE.
• The discussion will also be streamed LIVE on my YouTube channel at this link.