WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the leading Democratic member of a U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee criticized Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding her management of the agency’s budget and the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.
Senator Chris Murphy alerted Governor Noem that the Department of Homeland Security could exhaust its $65 billion budget as early as July, which is two months prior to the conclusion of the fiscal year. This situation puts them perilously close to invoking the Antideficiency Act, a federal statute that forbids governmental entities from expending more money than what has been appropriated to them.
Your department seems to be out of control,” the Democratic representative from Connecticut said to Noem. “It appears you’re running low on funds.
Before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Noem faced questions from Democrats regarding a prominent case involving the wrongful deportation of a man from Maryland. This individual was mistakenly sent to a well-known detention facility in El Salvador back in March.
The White House has proposed a “skinny” budget that includes $107 billion for the Department of Homeland Security beginning October 1st. This plan relies on the assumption that Republicans will manage to push through the ongoing reconciliation bill, which would provide an additional substantial amount of $175 billion for border security purposes.
“If we find ourselves in a situation where the administration exhausts the funds that were important to Republicans but fails to address the priorities that mattered to Democrats, I’m unsure how we can create a budget,” Murphy stated.
Senator Patty Murray, who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee as the senior Democrat, criticized Noem for failing to adhere to “our appropriations laws.”
She criticized the way immigration enforcement has ensnared U.S. citizens and individuals with legally protected statuses.
“The sweep of your crackdown has included American citizens and individuals who are here lawfully without any criminal history,” stated the Washington Democrat.
She similarly took issue with Noem for allocating $100 million on television advertisements that span from extolling the president to cautioning immigrants against entering the U.S. or suggesting they leave voluntarily.
Noem in addition
launched this week
An effort has been proposed to offer as much as $1,000 in “relocation aid” per individual for unauthorized immigrants who choose to voluntarily leave the country, totaling approximately $1 billion should President Donald Trump succeed in his aim to remove 1 million individuals. However, the specific funding allocation within the Department of Homeland Security’s budget for this purpose remains undefined.
Murray asked Noem about more than $100 billion in DHS funds not being used or re-programmed elsewhere for immigration enforcement, and called it “an illegal freeze.”
She then asked Noem when DHS would unfreeze those funds.
Noem chose not to respond directly and instead criticized the Biden administration, stating that the prior government “distorted” the intended use of the funds.
Murray stated that she didn’t believe “$100 billion would be utilized to violate laws.”
“I am very concerned that DHS is now dramatically over-spending funding that Congress has not provided,” Murray said. “We take our responsibility seriously to fund your department and others. We need to have answers, we need to have accountability, and we need to make sure you’re not overspending money that you were not allocated.”
Abrego Garcia deportation
Noem got into a heated exchange with one of the Democrats on the panel, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to speak with wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration has admitted his deportation was an “administrative error.”
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, who was sent initially to brutal CECOT but is now housed in another prison.
Van Hollen asked Noem what DHS has done to bring back Abrego Garcia, who had a 2019 court order barring his return to his home country of El Salvador for fear he would be harmed by gang violence.
Noem did not specify the actions being taken by the Trump administration and stated that since Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador, he falls under that country’s jurisdiction and cannot be returned.
Trump has contradicted his own administration, stating that if he wanted to bring back Agrego Garcia he would, but won’t because he believes Abrego Garcia has gang ties.
Although Trump administration officials such as Noem claim that Abrego Garcia is connected to the MS-13 gang, no proof has been presented in court. Federal Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing the case, deemed these allegations “hearsay.”
Noem then asked why Van Hollen was supporting Abrego Garcia initially.
“I find your support for a recognized terrorist disturbing,” she stated.
Van Hollen stated that he was pushing for due process, an area where the Trump administration has faced accusations of non-compliance during deportation proceedings. A federal judge in Louisiana intends to conduct a hearing next week to assess whether the Trump administration breached due process rights when expelling a 2-year-old U.S. citizen and her parent to Honduras.
Murphy also confronted Noem about the matter and questioned her regarding how she was collaborating with El Salvador for Abrega Garcia’s release.
“There is no situation in which Abrego Garcia will be sent back to the United States,” she stated.
Noem then said that even if Abrego Garcia were returned to the U.S., “we would immediately deport him again.”
Republicans concerned over student issues, TPS beneficiaries
Several Republicans on the panel, led by the committee chair, expressed reservations to Noem regarding the impact of the Trump administration’s stringent immigration policies on students who hold visas.
There are numerous individuals who warrant examination,” stated Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, expressing concern over students from Canada attending schools in her state. “However, these are dual-enrolled Canadian students who have been crossing the border for years without any issues.
She mentioned that Canadian students are facing rigorous inspections and hindrances at the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“They have student visas, but they’re being subjected to extensive searches and questioning,” she said to Noem. “I don’t want us to discourage Canadian students from studying at the northern Maine institutions that we have for education.”
Noem said she would look into it.
Alaskan Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski raised the issue of paperwork not being processed for those with Temporary Protected Status in her state. TPS is granted to those who come from a country that is considered too dangerous or unstable to return to due to war, natural disasters or other instability.
Murkowski mentioned that various immigrant groups in her state who have temporary protected status and humanitarian protection could lose their work permits, including individuals from Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, and Ukraine.
“Most of these individuals are highly regarded members of their adopted communities,” Murkowski stated. “They are addressing our labor shortages and significantly supporting our local economy. However, they have shown significant worry regarding their current legal standing and potential revocation or expiration of their work permits.”
She mentioned that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has failed to process TPS or humanitarian protection renewals for as long as five months.
Noem stated that individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are under consideration, and acknowledged that some Ukrainian people are among them.
got an erroneous email
that informed them their status had been rescinded.
She stated that DHS hasn’t yet decided about extending TPS for Ukrainians, who received this protection because of Russia’s continuing assault on their nation.
“Some of these TPS programs have existed for decades, but the assessment of why TPS should be implemented and under what circumstances a nation can utilize them is part of the ongoing review conducted by the administration,” Noem stated.
Last updated 5:06 p.m., May. 8, 2025
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