Conservatives are pushing back after Rep.Ilhan Omar.
D-Minn., introduced legislation that would redirect over $100 billion in funds previously allocated to immigration enforcement and "invest it into communities across the country that have been impacted by the Department of Homeland Security’s heinous operations."Omar explained in a press release Thursday that her Make ICE Pay Act is a response to "Operation Metro Surge" in Minnesota and that it would send nearly $140 billion of ICE and Border Patrol funding from Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act toward "local recovery efforts" from immigration enforcement that has taken place across the country.Omar says the funding will be used by local jurisdictions to provide economic relief and distribute money through the states to nonprofits, small businesses and other impacted entities to support schools, healthcare and psychological services, increased local-government expenses, investigations and memorialization efforts.The program would be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseen by its inspector general and expire three years after its creation."ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses," Omar posted on X about the legislation.
"Our communities deserve accountability.My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE's $140 billion budget to the communities they've hurt the most."MINNESOTA'S ANTI-ICE AID FUND BECOMES LATEST CASUALTY OF STATE'S EMBARRASSING FRAUD PROBLEMRep.
Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attends a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on Jan.16, 2026, in St.
Paul.The hearing, titled "Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump's Deadly Assault on Minnesota," featured local citizens and politicians discussing immigration operation "Metro Surge." (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)While the bill’s future is bleak as long as Republicans control Congress and the White House, it was quickly blasted by conservatives as emblema...