The killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and other recent tragedies are painful reminders that public safety demands professionalism, accountability and discipline. Victims and their families are owed more than political talking points or unchecked expansions of federal power. My colleagues and I owe them policies that work.
There is a hard truth that Congress needs to confront: The Trump administration’s decision to pour unprecedented amounts of money into federal immigration enforcement has failed to increase public safety. In fact, it has actively undermined it.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act handed Immigration and Customs Enforcement an extraordinary windfall — $75 billion to dramatically expand its operations.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act handed Immigration and Customs Enforcement an extraordinary windfall — $75 billion to dramatically expand its operations, hire 10,000 new agents and rapidly increase its detention capacity. Under the law, ICE is on track to become one of the largest federal law enforcement agencies.
Federal law enforcement plays an important role in finding and deporting violent criminals. But under the reckless leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, agencies have strayed far from that mission. ICE has famously lowered its training and hiring standards, while almost 3 of every 4 arrests are of immigrants with no criminal conviction. And that’s in addition to the more than 170 American citizens ICE has detained in the past year.
As ICE’s budget balloons, communities across Nevada and the rest of the country are struggling to fill local police vacancies, keep officers on the job and invest in proven crime-reduction strategies. Those struggles have been made worse — not better — by ICE’s aggressive recruitment from the ranks of state and local law enforcement. Sheriffs and police chiefs have been clear about what that means: fewer officers answering 911 calls, longer response times, less public trust in local police and departments stretched dangerously thin.
That imbalance is why I introduced the PUBLIC SAFETY Act.
My bill redirects funding from ICE’s massive expansion and puts that money where it will actually reduce crime — back into local law enforcement — while preserving ICE’s regular annual funding.
First, the legislation would move $29.85 billion from ICE enforcement and operations to the COPS Hiring Program, allowing communities to hire more than 200,000 police officers nationwide. That’s 200,000 more officers walking beats, answering emergency calls and investigating violent crime. That’s better for communities than 10,000 new federal immigration officers whose primary mission is civil immigration enforcement.
This isn’t about ignoring immigration enforcement.
And my bill helps small and rural police departments — those with fewer than 175 officers — access this funding, ensuring that communities with the greatest needs and fewest resources aren’t left behind.
This isn’t about ignoring immigration enforcement. Under my bill, ICE would continue to receive its normal annual funding, which for the past two years has been about $10 billion per year. But this is about acknowledging reality: Federal immigration enforcement needs to be targeted, humane and just.
The act redirects $45 billion from ICE’s expansion of detention centers to the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program, the backbone of our nation’s crime-fighting infrastructure. Byrne JAG grants support law enforcement efforts as varied as drug task forces, mental health crisis response and victim services. It is one of the most flexible, effective tools the country has for reducing crime and strengthening the justice system. Local police are the officers who have built trust with their communities and are trained to do their jobs in neighborhoods and cities. That includes de-escalating tense situations, not inciting them. When we know that investing in more than 200,000 local police officers would do far more to keep Americans safe than expanding an untrained federal immigration force, the choice should be clear. For decades I have worked alongside police officers, sheriffs and prosecutors whose job is keeping our communities safe. I did it as an assistant U.S. attorney and as Nevada’s attorney general. I’m doing it now in the U.S. Senate. As a former prosecutor, I believe in results. And the evidence is clear: When communities invest in local law enforcement — when departments are fully staffed, properly trained and supported by modern crime-prevention tools — crime goes down and trust goes up. The goal of the PUBLIC SAFETY Act is to prioritize what keeps families safe, to support the officers on the front lines and to ensure federal dollars are spent where they do the most good. Public safety isn’t a slogan. It is a responsibility. And it starts in our communities.
Catherine Cortez Masto is a Democratic U.S. senator from Nevada. 
