Chris James on House GOP Conceding, Approving DHS Funding Minus Border Patrol and ICE

Gilbert, AZ — April 30, 2026

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Gilbert, AZ – Today the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund all agencies within DHS such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but not U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This is a bill the Senate passed over a month ago. Chris James, Democrat for Congress in Arizona’s 5th district, issued the following statement: 

“House Republicans finally conceded today after dragging out the DHS shutdown over their refusal to hold ICE accountable for its abuses. TSA and FEMA should be funded, especially as we approach the busy travel season, not to mention tornado, wildfire, and hurricane seasons. Now Congress should turn to doing its job and imposing real constraints on ICE and CBP to avoid abuses of civil liberties, to ensure they follow constitutional norms, and to respect the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly. We’ve all seen the abuses carried out against both immigrants and U.S. citizens play out on social media, and they must stop. This Administration has broken its promises. They haven’t focused on criminals, they’ve actually de-prioritized them. They’ve taken FBI, Homeland Security Investigators and others away from critical law enforcement missions to chase down janitors and daycare workers. We can do better. We can both secure our borders and have a functioning immigration system that respects the law, and that treats people as human beings. In Congress, I will fight for that.”

— Chris James