Ilhan Omar Introduces Bill to Strip $140 Billion From ICE and Give It to Communities ‘Hurt’ by Deportation Raids

by Cassandra MacDonald Sep. 21, 2026 2:40 pm



Rep. Ilhan Omar has introduced legislation that would take nearly $140 billion Congress already appropriated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection and send it to communities she says were “harmed” by immigration operations.

The bill is titled the Make ICE Pay Act.

Rep. Ilhan Omar



@Ilhan
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ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses. Our communities deserve accountability.

My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE's $140 billion budget to the communities they've hurt the most.

1:10 PM · Sep 17, 2026

“For over a year, ICE has been tearing through our nation, leading racist terror campaigns that have caused devastating damage to our cities, to our businesses, and to the lives of our constituents,” Omar said in a press release about the bill.

“In Minneapolis, Operation Metro Surge cost our community nearly $700 million. We have a moral responsibility to end this abuse of power. Our bill will force ICE to pay the price for the damage they’ve left in their wake and ensure that these devastating operations can never be repeated.”

Other cosponsors include Reps. Angie Craig, Jesús García, Rashida Tlaib, Chellie Pingree, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Janelle Bynum.

“The psychological and financial impacts of Operation Metro Surge will be generational,” Craig said of the bill. “As Minnesotans begin the long process of healing from the wounds that President Trump’s ICE inflicted, it’s important that we commit to holding this lawless and misguided administration accountable. There is much more work to be done, but this bill is a critical step toward making our communities whole.”

The money would come from accounts filled under the One Big Beautiful Bill and later enforcement funding, including the Secure America package that provides tens of billions to ICE and Border Patrol through 2029.

Omar’s bill would have HUD run a three-year grant program, overseen by HUD’s inspector general.

Eligible states include California, Minnesota after Operation Metro Surge, Illinois after Operation Midway Blitz, Louisiana after Operations Swamp Sweet and Catahoula Crunch, Maine after Operation Catch of the Day, North Carolina after Operation Charlotte’s Web, and Oregon after Operation Black Rose.

Recipients could spend it on “economic relief,” local-government costs, schools, “psychosocial support,” investigations, commissions of inquiry, “truth telling,” record-keeping, and “memorialization” so the operations are “accurately recorded, remembered, and can never be repeated,” according to Omar’s press release.

Senator Jim Banks



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This bill is un-American.

This bill defunds law enforcement and gives their funding to the communities harboring criminal illegal aliens.

Democrats fight for everyone except the American people.

Rep. Ilhan Omar



@Ilhan

ICE has been tearing through our nation, devastating our neighborhoods, our cities, and our businesses. Our communities deserve accountability.

My Make ICE Pay Act will redirect ICE's $140 billion budget to the communities they've hurt the most.

4:05 PM · Sep 18, 2026

Republican Sen. Jim Banks responded to the bill by writing, “This bill is un-American. This bill defunds law enforcement and gives their funding to the communities harboring criminal illegal aliens.

Democrats fight for everyone except the American people.”

John Nagel for Congress MN-5
@Nagel4Congress
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Her entire existence is on crippling the United States. She is anti-police and pro communism.

Libs of TikTok
@libsoftiktok

BREAKING: Ilham Omar to introduce bill to redirect $140 billion from ICE’s budget to communities and nonprofits who assist illegal aliensThe definition of America last.

Denaturalize and deport


10:55 PM · Sep 17, 2026

Minnesota Republican John Nagel, who is running against Omar, wrote that “her entire existence is on crippling the United States.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/202...0-billion-ice/