Washington, DC – On Friday evening, by a vote of 54-46, the Senate voted to pass the House Majority’s seven-month continuing resolution (CR), a move that eliminates critical congressional oversight and accountability over how the Trump Administration can spend trillions of dollars in government funding.
The passage of the CR was made possible after 10 Democratic senators sided with Senate Republicans on a procedure to continue voting on the bill, effectively approving the CR because the procedural step required a 60-vote threshold rather than the 50-vote threshold for a final Senate vote. The President signed the bill into law just before the midnight deadline.
A 30-day alternative — proposed by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) — that would have kept the government funded while allowing more time for meaningful negotiations to ensure responsible federal spending failed to gain enough support in the Senate.
“SEARAC is deeply disappointed by the Senate’s passage of this CR, which grants the Trump Administration unchecked authority to redirect millions of dollars within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand its already bloated immigration enforcement team. This could lead to an escalation in deportations of Southeast Asian refugees, many of whom have lived in the United States for decades after being resettled into underserved communities with little support. Fifteen thousand Southeast Asians currently have final orders of removal, with some already being deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including a recently deported Hmong mother of five on marijuana-related offenses,” said Quyên Đinh, Executive Director of SEARAC.
“This resolution hands the Administration a blank check to further tear families apart, disregarding the deep humanitarian and economic consequences of such actions. These are individuals who arrived in the United States as refugees, rebuilt their lives, and have spent decades contributing to their families and communities. Many have already served their sentences for past mistakes and have worked to create stability for their loved ones. This CR fails to recognize their rehabilitation and resilience, instead granting DHS unchecked power to target and remove them indiscriminately.”
Beyond immigration enforcement, SEARAC is also concerned that this CR will allow the Administration to cut funding for critical programs serving Southeast Asian American communities. This includes potential reductions to:
- Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) that support schools with sizable populations of students of color, including Southeast Asian students;
- Maternal and child health programs that provide essential healthcare for vulnerable families; and
- Other vital social services that many rely on for stability and well-being.
“The President has already invoked the Alien Enemies Act to justify harmful policies. His Administration has already cut funding for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs, in addition to threatening broad funding freezes across multiple agencies. Now, with this CR, his Administration has near-total discretion over the government’s funding without proper guardrails,” said Đinh. “Congress must act to prevent further damage. Given the devastating impact this CR could have, SEARAC calls on Congress to reject any further efforts to increase immigration enforcement in the upcoming budget reconciliation process.”
Media contact: Elaine Sanchez Wilson, elaine@searac.org