By Alex Johnson | Monday, June 1, 2026
Florida Congressman Mike Haridopolos on Monday called for the Senate to quickly advance President Donald Trump’s border security funding package, arguing that additional resources for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection are essential to public safety and national security.
Haridopolos criticized delays in the Senate as lawmakers work to finalize a reconciliation bill that includes immigration enforcement funding. “We absolutely need to fund border security and ICE,” he said. “As you’re seeing right now in New Jersey, there are violent offenders around, and we need to make sure they are locked up.”
The Florida Republican noted that the House has repeatedly approved legislation containing border security funding, having passed it five times, while waiting for Senate Republicans to move the package forward. “We’re waiting on the Senate to play their typical game,” he said.
Haridopolos stressed that Congress has a responsibility to ensure federal agencies have resources needed to enforce immigration laws and remove dangerous criminals from communities. He highlighted ongoing issues in sanctuary cities: “There are still many on the street.”
On recent protests at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, Haridopolos countered criticisms by stating that most detainees have been convicted of serious crimes. “The depraved individuals are the persons in there,” he said. “They’re murderers, rapists, drug dealers, child molesters. They should be behind bars.”
He also alleged that protests were driven by outside activists rather than local residents, calling them “professional protesters” and stating, “This is not some ad hoc situation.”
