Republicans have been conned yet again, by Trump and all Republican representatives and senators. The big budget bill that Republicans passed last month contained $91 billion ($91,000,000,000) for immigrant deportation including $45 billion for detention facilities, $30 billion for federal ICE agents, $13 billion for state ICE agents and $3 billion for state detention facilities.
Even if Trump unlikely manages to deport 1 million (1,000,000) immigrants in the coming year, this is spending $91,000 to deport each immigrant. Considering the median annual household income in La Plata County is about $85,300, we should be outraged by this incredible waste of taxpayer money. Republicans are no longer the party of “small government” nor “responsible spending.”
On top of this, 71% of immigrants currently held by ICE have no criminal convictions and many of the rest are minor offenses or traffic violations.
The Republican narrative that immigrants are all “criminals and rapists” is completely false. Republicans seem not to realize that immigrants in this country just want a safe place to live, to earn a living and to raise their families. This is not different from what Republicans want for their own families.
Clearly, Republican representatives and senators up for reelection need to be voted out of office in the 2026 midterm elections for their fiscal irresponsibility and inhumanity.
John Redemske
Durango
