Palazzo Addresses Border Funding Issues in Homeland Security Markup, Stands with DHS Law Enforcement

Congressman Steven Palazzo (MS-4) has signed on to a House resolution to show his unwavering support for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after Democratic Members of Congress called for the federal government to defund the DHS and its corresponding law enforcement agencies. Palazzo, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security has been a strong advocate for border patrol agents and other homeland security law enforcement officials during his tenure in Congress.

“Rather than protecting American citizens from invading migrants, Democrats are defunding our front-line border security agencies and using taxpayers’ dollars to welcome illegal aliens with open arms,” said Congressman Steven Palazzo. “DHS, CBP and ICE have the daunting task of addressing the numerous threats that attempt to enter our country every day. At a time of an immigration-driven humanitarian crisis, not providing these agencies with critical funding for political purposes is bad governance.”

For text of the resolution, click here.

In late May, Congressman Palazzo visited the border with his Border Security Caucus colleagues and saw firsthand the chaos caused by Democrats’ continuous fight to defund and abolish DHS, ICE, and CBP. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Congressman Palazzo is committed to supporting and funding the brave men and women who work to protect our country from the intrusion of illegal aliens.

Earlier this week during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security hearing, Palazzo called for the committee to fund these vital agencies that secure the United States borders:

“This bill sadly comes up short. As a member of this subcommittee, I feel a direct responsibility for the national security issues this bill doesn’t provide for.

“We are experiencing a failure of policy, not personnel.

“I visited the border a few months ago, along with some of my colleagues, and we met plenty of hardworking border agents catching and processing illegal aliens. But agents are being stripped of the policy tools that allow them to turn migrants away. Now this bill before us strips them of the funding that allows them to carry out their basic missions.

“Our physical border isn’t the only thing being thrown to the wayside in this bill. Our maritime border, and the US Coast Guard that protects it, isn’t prioritized either.

“Year after year we sit in hearings where we thank CBP, ICE, USCG and other DHS entities for all the work they do. But year after year we sit in markups where we stretch them thinner and thinner. We ask them to do more with less.

“This Administration is pushing polices that create open borders and encourage illegal immigration, and the American people are footing the bill. The funding priorities in this bill put illegal immigrants first and the American people’s safety and security last.

“Madam Chair, we must work together and craft a bipartisan bill that secures our border with immigration policies that prioritize American workers, protect our national security, respect the rule of law, and grow the middle class.”

Press Release

7/15/2021