Sen Chris Van Hollen vows to halt funding for ICE over 'lawless' operations

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) issued a blunt warning on Sunday, January 18, saying he will oppose any federal funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration.

Appearing on ABC’s 'This Week', the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said that the agency’s current operations were “lawless” and “brutal,” pointing directly to the crackdown in Minneapolis.

Van Hollen accused the administration of disregarding constitutional protections and withholding key information from the public. His remarks set the stage for a budget confrontation in the Senate as Democrats sought to curb the president’s domestic enforcement agenda.

Van Hollen says 'not one dime' for 'Trump ICE operation'

“I am not going to cast a vote, not one dime, to support this lawless, brutal Trump ICE operation,” Van Hollen told host Jonathan Karl. He said any future funding would require “dramatic change” and “significant reforms.”

The senator cited a recent federal court ruling, noting that “a federal judge just this week said that ICE agents were violating people’s constitutional rights” by blocking lawful, peaceful protest.

Disputing administration' claims on criminal targets

Van Hollen challenged the administration’s assertion that ICE was focused on the “worst of the worst.” He pointed to agency data showing that “80% of the people they’re apprehending around the country posed no public threat whatsoever.”

He alleged that the administration removed those figures from public view. “Instead of addressing that problem, they pulled down the data so we can no longer see it,” Van Hollen said.

He argued that, under current conditions, “The ICE agents are the ones breaking the law, not the peaceful protesters.”

Condemning military tactics in American cities

Turning to Minneapolis, Van Hollen warned against President Trump’s threat to invoke the 'Insurrection Act', saying the move would put "another match on the fire."

He said the city already had about 3,000 ICE agents compared with roughly 600 local police officers, contending there was no need to “militarize the situation even more.”

Van Hollen added that agents were “already engaged in essentially military-style tactics in many cases,” urging the public to look at events such as the shooting of Renee Good.

Greenland bid called a resource land grab

On foreign policy, Van Hollen dismissed the president’s push to acquire Greenland as a “land grab” rather than a national security move.

He said that Trump wants “to get his hands on the minerals and other resources,” likening it to US involvement in Venezuela, which he described as driven by access to oil.

Van Hollen named a prominent donor in the origin of the idea, saying, “Ron Lauder, who’s a huge Trump supporter, is the person who first told Trump, go after Greenland.”