WASHINGTON, DC (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Democratic Senators Elissa Slotkin and Gary Peters are promising to vote no on the latest Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding package – citing concerns over ICE – despite the inconvenient fact that Congress already greenlit supplemental funding for ICE 2029 in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This funding includes $76 billion for ICE over the next four years, what Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) says is about 87% more funding than last year.
That money is law. Signed and done. What’s now on the table is the FY 2026 DHS appropriations bill, which includes about $10 billion for ICE as part of the routine annual budget. Different bill, different bucket. Same agency.
Annual budget, shutdown stakes.
MORE NEWS: Gov. Whitmer Announces Father’s Death: ‘He Was My Best Friend’
The House has already passed the DHS package, but it’s stalled in the Senate with a January 30 shutdown deadline looming. Blocking DHS doesn’t just hit ICE though. It tangles funding for border security, disaster response, cybersecurity, combating child trafficking, and more.
Still, Slotkin and Peters are siding with Senate Democrats who are threatening to slam the brakes on DHS funding. They point to the fatal shootings of anti-ICE activists Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents – incidents that triggered nationwide protests and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement. Critics, however, argue the standoff isn’t just about policy, but about pandering to the party’s progressive base.
Slotkin said in a statement on Saturday, “I will be voting against the Department of Homeland Security funding bill this week.” She explained, “As all Americans can see with their own eyes, ICE and those under their command are not acting as responsible law enforcement agencies. They are recklessly inciting violence at the whims of the President. And they must be reined in before there is more killing.”
Senator Peters posted on X: “I will be voting no on the DHS funding bill because it lacks necessary reforms to immigration enforcement. DHS’ current immigration enforcement operations are not protecting our homeland security or making American communities safer. They are causing chaos and fear. They are violating Americans’ constitutional rights. We need stronger guardrails and accountability.”
Chuck Schumer’s leverage play.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made it clear what will happen and not happen this week saying, “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward.” The plan? According to The Hill, he’s urging senate Republicans to drop the DHS appropriations bill and to “join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public,” effectively using shutdown pressure as leverage.
Because of Senate rules requiring 60 votes to end debate and overcome a filibuster, Republicans will need at least 60 senators to support the Department of Homeland Security funding bill in the Senate in order for it to advance and ultimately pass. The last government shutdown lasted 43 days.
