Ballroom, "anti-weaponization" funding both out. Sign if you agree: Congress should pass real reforms to immigration enforcement, not write blank checks of unprecedented size to ICE and CBP

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Here’s How the Administration Plans to Spend the Largest Immigration Enforcement Funding Surge in History

CATO INSTITUTE

 

Ballroom, "anti-weaponization" funding both out. Sign if you agree: Congress should pass real reforms to immigration enforcement, not write blank checks of unprecedented size to ICE and CBP

Bowers News Media

Good evening. I would be remiss if I did not send you an update on this, as I can now confirm that funding for both Donald Trump's $1 billion ballroom and his $1.776 "anti-weaponization" slush fund for his political allies are out of the Republican budget reconciliation bill that is currently working its way through Congress. Now it is time to actually beat the bill itself, which has zero reforms to immigration enforcement practices and would provide $70 billion to immigration enforcement agencies on top of the $191 billion that was already passed last year in the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." Sign if you agree: Congress should pass real reforms to immigration enforcement, not write blank checks of unprecedented size to ICE and CBP (Note: Signing this petition may result in receiving emails from Civic Shout. After you sign the petition, you will be shown another petition, which I have no control over and do not necessarily support. For more information on petitions like these, including why I center my news updates around petitions and other actions instead of ads, please see the notes below this email.) With funding for the politically toxic ballroom and "anti-weaponization" slush fund both dropped, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that he will now move forward on the budget reconciliation bill that would provide immigration enforcement agencies with an additional $70 billion in funding for the next three years. Here is the problem. Last year, the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" already provided the Department of Homeland Security with $191 billion in immigration enforcement funding, according to both the left-wing FWD.us and the right-wing CATO Center. That is enough money to fund immigration enforcement for another seven years. An additional $70 billion is unnecessary and excessive. Further, this new money comes, once again, without any reforms to immigration enforcement. This is just a blank check for the Trump administration to continue its harsh, quasi-authoritarian practices. So yeah, it's great that we beat the weaponization fund and the ballroom, at least for now. However, let's not forget that the overall reconciliation bill is still pretty bad on its own. Sign if you agree: Congress should pass real reforms to immigration enforcement, not write blank checks of unprecedented size to ICE and CBP.... Thank you for your time, Chris Bowers Founder, Bowers News Media Notes on petitions: –I always include actions with my articles and news explainers to give my audience a way to go more than just read. I have done this for over 15 yeas, both at Bowers News Media and at my previous places of employment. –Overall, petitions do not typically make a noticeable impact. There are some exceptions, like cancelling student debt, which was an idea that came from a petition. However, that sort of outcome is pretty rare. Mostly, petitions make a difference in the way that speeches make a difference, or posting about politics on social media makes a difference, or op-ed pieces make a difference, or really the way almost any political act makes a difference. That is, all of these actions, including petitions, are part of the broader discourse promoting or raising awareness about different ideas. –I do use petitions as a means of generating income for Bowers News Media through partners such as Civic Shout, of growing my email list though joint actions with partner organizations, or of generating donations for Bowers News Media by directing action takers to ActBlue pages after they sign. Personally, I think this is a lot better than advertisements, which I consider ugly and intrusive and do not use. **** About Bowers News Media is a one-person, pro-democracy and pro-Democratic news and activism email list, run by me, Chris Bowers. I am a 22-year veteran of online progressive politics at Daily Kos, Open Left and MyDD. I write all of the emails myself, in an honest, measured, personal voice, citing all of my sources and avoiding exaggeration. I aim help you make a difference in the world without driving up your anger or fear. Further, I will always remain accessible to you by reading every single email you send me, and replying to many of them. Wolves and Sheep is a pro-democracy and pro-Democratic political analysis Substack run by Matthew Kerbel, a former political science professor of over 30 years at Villanova University. Matt brings you timely, outside the beltway analysis of our national politics, informed by history and social science, to help you make sense of what often feels like an out-of-control world. Together, we run Bowers Kerbel Media, a joint effort between Bowers News Media and Wolves and Sheep. Matt and I are old friends, and even wrote a book together a little over a decade ago.