Rep. Ilhan Omar introduced legislation that would strip nearly $140 billion from ICE and Border Patrol and dump it into a HUD-administered slush fund for jurisdictions claiming harm from immigration enforcement — a direct attempt to gut the enforcement arm standing between American communities and unchecked migration.
The Make ICE Pay Act, rolled out Thursday, targets funding from Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and would redirect it toward what Omar calls "local recovery efforts" from DHS operations. According to a press release from Omar, the money would flow through states to nonprofits, small businesses, and local governments for schools, healthcare, psychological services, investigations, and "memorialization efforts." The program would be run by HUD, overseen by its inspector general, and sunset after three years.
"ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses," Omar posted on X. "Our communities deserve accountability. My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE's $140 billion budget to the communities they've hurt the most."
Omar says the bill is a response to "Operation Metro Surge" in Minnesota. What she frames as "heinous operations," however, is the federal government enforcing immigration law — the core sovereign function the American people expect their government to perform.
The pushback was immediate. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., called the bill "un-American," posting on X: "This bill defunds law enforcement and gives their funding to the communities harboring criminal illegal aliens. Democrats fight for everyone except the American people." Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted: "Defund ICE. Weaken the border. Then expect safer communities? That math isn't mathing." Omar's Republican challenger in Minnesota's 5th District, John Nagel, wrote: "Her entire existence is on crippling the United States. She is anti-police and pro communism."
The bill's prospects are effectively zero with Republicans controlling both chambers and the White House. But the legislation reveals the priorities: defund enforcement, subsidize noncompliance.
Meanwhile, there's a separate thread worth watching. White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed to Fox News last week that DHS is conducting an "ongoing criminal investigation" involving Omar. Pressed on whether the government has evidence of immigration or naturalization fraud, Homan declined to comment, saying only: "I said months ago that there's something that's been reported and needs to be looked at." Omar has long faced allegations — which she has repeatedly denied — that she married a man critics claim is her brother as part of an immigration scheme.
A sitting member of Congress wants to strip $140 billion from the agency that may be actively investigating her own immigration history. Whether that investigation produces charges or fizzles, the conflict is plain.
