Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) argued that House Democrats are justified in opposing new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, even if it harms agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard, because the goal is to deny Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) additional resources.
Speaking Friday on CNN’s The Source, Frost responded to criticism that a shutdown or lapse in DHS funding would hurt frontline workers while ICE would continue operating with already-approved money.
CNN host Kaitlan Collins pressed Frost on the political consequences of such a vote, noting that ICE already has $75 billion allocated over the next four years due to previously passed legislation. She asked how Democrats could justify a vote that would effectively block funding for TSA agents, FEMA workers, and Coast Guard members instead.
Frost replied that Republicans do not need Democratic votes to pass a bill and that Democrats are using their leverage to push for changes in DHS and ICE policy.
“If they want my vote, they’re going to have to go with the demands that we put forth,” Frost said.
He accused DHS and ICE of acting recklessly and claimed their actions have led to violence and fear in communities across the country.
“If we want to talk about consequences,” Frost said, “people who are being shot and killed across this country, and our neighbors who are being terrorized in our communities as we speak — those are the consequences of the recklessness of DHS and ICE right now.”
Frost further described current immigration enforcement as a “mass kidnapping campaign,” rejecting the term “mass deportation.” He argued that public opinion supports his party’s stance, claiming polls show voters believe the administration has gone too far.
He also criticized what he referred to as a “big, beautiful bill” passed last year that provided ICE with what he called “essentially unlimited resources” while granting tax cuts to billionaires at the expense of health care for working Americans.
“We’re representing our constituents by saying no,” Frost concluded. “We’re not going to give them a penny more to do what we’ve seen over the last year.”
The debate highlights growing divisions in Congress over immigration enforcement and DHS funding, as lawmakers clash over whether restricting agency budgets is a legitimate tool to rein in ICE operations or an action that unfairly harms other critical federal services.
