President Donald Trump signed a multiyear immigration enforcement funding package while saying Iran had delayed nuclear negotiations, warning U.S. strikes would continue and claiming American operations had removed millions of barrels of Iranian oil from circulation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday providing multiyear funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, while using an Oval Office press conference to issue new warnings to Iran over stalled nuclear talks, recent attacks on U.S. assets and Iranian oil shipments.
WATCH:
The measure, known as the Secure America Act, provides funding for ICE and the Border Patrol through Jan. 20, 2029, the end of Trump’s term. The bill was signed after weeks of congressional deadlock over immigration enforcement spending and after Republicans moved the legislation through Congress without Democratic support.
The House narrowly approved the bill June 9 in a 214-212 vote. The Senate passed it in the early hours of June 5 through the budget reconciliation process, which allowed Republicans to bypass the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Every Senate Republican except Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted for the bill. All Democrats opposed it. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., was absent.
Trump’s signature ended a 116-day dispute over immigration funding. Democrats had withheld support for additional ICE and Border Patrol money unless reforms were included after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot in Minneapolis in incidents involving immigration agents.
The legislation includes $38 billion for immigration enforcement, covering the hiring, training, equipping and compensation of ICE personnel. Of that amount, $7 billion is designated for Homeland Security Investigations, while $31 billion is directed toward enforcement operations, including immigration attorneys, equipment such as body cameras and assistance for local law enforcement agencies that work with ICE.
The bill also provides $22 billion for Border Patrol recruitment, training, pay and equipment. About $13 billion of that funding is earmarked for immigration enforcement operations.
Another $5 billion is allocated for border security technology and screening systems, including artificial intelligence tools. The law also sets aside $350 million for enforcement activity in jurisdictions that do not formally cooperate with ICE.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after House passage that the legislation prevents Democrats from defunding ICE and the Border Patrol for the next several years.
“All that Democrats have achieved by their shutdown is a useful reminder to the American people of their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in American communities—policies that have been soundly rejected by the American people over and over again,” Johnson said in a statement. “We hope this episode serves as a future reminder to Democrats that when they shut the government down, they will receive less than nothing in return.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said support for the bill was support for law enforcement.
“Make no mistake, if you’re voting yes, you’re not only voting to secure America’s border, you’re voting to fund law enforcement,” Scalise said. “And if you vote no, you are voting to defund the police.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the measure and said it lacked oversight.
“Republicans have now come back for more, to give ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check, with no oversight, no accountability, and no guardrails,” Jeffries said.
The funding comes after a leadership change at the Department of Homeland Security in March, when Trump replaced Kristi Noem with Markwayne Mullin. Mullin has said he intends to keep the department out of the spotlight, though the administration continues to face pressure from immigration hardliners to deliver on Trump’s campaign pledge to carry out the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
The bill had been slowed by Republican disagreements over a proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for people claiming harm from federal government actions. Opposition eased after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced June 2 that the administration would terminate the program.
Senate Republicans released revised legislation June 3 removing both the compensation fund and $1 billion that had been designated for a White House ballroom project and security upgrades.
Congress had approved separate legislation in April to fund most of DHS, excluding ICE and the Border Patrol. That earlier package included money for body cameras, stronger congressional oversight of detention facilities and de-escalation training for officers and agents.
ICE and Border Patrol funding was handled separately after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on broader immigration and enforcement reforms. As negotiations stalled, DHS experienced a record-length shutdown.
The new funding is in addition to nearly $140 billion that ICE and Customs and Border Protection received last year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
During the same White House appearance, Trump addressed the escalating conflict with Iran and said Tehran had delayed nuclear negotiations while taking advantage of U.S. efforts to reach an agreement.
“We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along,” Trump said. “They keep playing us for suckers because you know what? They dealt with some very stupid presidents.”
Trump was responding to questions about a social media post in which he said Iran had taken too long to reach an agreement and would now “have to pay the price.”
Earlier Wednesday, Trump indicated he may increase pressure on Tehran if negotiations continue to stall. Reuters reported that Trump said in a phone interview with another news outlet that he could order additional strikes against Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.
Trump said any agreement must permanently block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and limit Tehran’s ability to threaten U.S. allies in the Middle East.
“We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters when asked to clarify his remarks.
The president also described an incident involving a U.S. helicopter that he said was fired upon by Iran. Trump said the aircraft was hit by a bomb that did not explode and credited the pilots for safely managing the situation.
“We actually have the bomb. Got very lucky that the bomb didn’t explode,” Trump said. “Fortunately, the pilots are OK.”
Trump said Iran first denied responsibility before acknowledging its role. He also said the United States had already carried out strikes against Iranian targets and would continue military action.
“We hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens with the deal.”
Despite the escalation, Trump said he remains willing to accept a nuclear agreement if it permanently prevents Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“It’s a good deal. It doesn’t give them the right to have a nuclear weapon. In fact, it totally prohibits them from ever having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Trump contrasted his proposal with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated under former President Barack Obama, calling that agreement “the worst deal” and arguing that it gave Iran a path to eventually obtain a nuclear weapon.
“This is a path against nuclear. You can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Trump also said Pakistani officials have encouraged Iran to accept a deal. He credited Pakistan with helping facilitate discussions after what he described as his efforts to prevent a war between Pakistan and India.
“We want a deal that’s meaningful. We want a deal that works,” Trump said.
The president also said U.S. operations have removed large amounts of Iranian oil from circulation during the conflict, claiming the action helped prevent global oil prices from rising much higher.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said American forces had been taking “millions of barrels” of oil each night, though he said the operation had not previously been disclosed publicly.
“We’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil. Nobody knows it,” Trump said. “We’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night.”
Trump said U.S. forces recently removed 22 ships carrying oil. He said the vessels were operating without lights and claimed Iranian radar capabilities had been severely damaged.
“We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights because they don’t have any radar,” Trump said. “Because we blasted the crap out of it.”
The president argued the oil operation helped keep crude prices from surging during the conflict.
“That’s why oil is $85 a barrel,” Trump said. “Millions of barrels of oil has come out, and that’s why it’s at $85, $90 a barrel instead of $250.”
Trump said he had previously avoided discussing the operation because he did not want to compromise it.
“It was very hard for me. I wanted to say it so badly, but I didn’t want to ruin it,” he said. “Now that they figured it out, I can tell you.”
Original article
Comments