U.S. Senator Katie Britt Chairs Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on FY26 DHS Budget Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, yesterday led subcommittee members in questioning U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on the Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Senator Britt’s opening statement highlighted President Trump’s immediate, successful actions to secure our southern border, as well as her commitment to working with Secretary Noem as Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. “The work that President Trump and this administration have done to curb the flow of illegal migration is truly incredible. We’ve gone from record-high encounters under the previous administration to two consecutive months of record lows. Ultimately, that means safer communities and families across our great country,” the Senator stated.
“But we cannot let up,” Senator Britt continued. “We must continue to empower Border Patrol. We want our agents on the line to be equipped with the best tools available. We must also continue the renewed focus on interior enforcement, where we have seen tremendous gains since President Trump took the oath of office . . . as you know, Madam Secretary, the ultimate goal of immigration enforcement lifecycle is to remove individuals that are here unlawfully. And I commend your department in the pursuit and the end of that goal.”
Senator Britt also highlighted the incredible work done in Alabama to support DHS, saying, “From the incredible collaboration between DHS and our college programs on research to the HSI National Academy in Huntsville, to the Coast Guard’s Aviation Training Center in Mobile, it’s gratifying to see that I represent a state that plays such an important role in protecting our country . . . Both FEMA’s center for Domestic Preparedness and the National Computer Forensic Institute and Hoover provide key resources to local officials across our nation to ensure that they are equipped with the best knowledge, skills, and tools needed to protect and serve the United States of America.”
While she acknowledged that the President’s full FY26 budget request had not yet been released, Senator Britt commented, “I am supportive of zeroing out the Shelter and Services Program, and I look forward to conversations about the proposed cuts to FEMA, CISA, and TSA. I hope as the details become available, we will see requests for targeted base increases to CBP, ICE, and elsewhere to help equip DHS with the tools and resources it needs to address current and evolving threats both domestically and abroad.”
Earlier this year, Senator Britt’s S.5, the Laken Riley Act, named in honor of a nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien, was signed into law. The Senator highlighted another innocent American, Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, who was raped and murdered by an illegal alien from El Salvador. “May her story and others like it serve as a reminder to the human cost of unchecked illegal immigration policies, the need to secure our border, and the need to swiftly remove criminal illegal aliens from the United States,” Senator Britt stated.
In her line of questioning, Senator Britt began by asking Secretary Noem what her department needs Congress to appropriate in its FY26 budget request. Secretary Noem responded, saying, “. . . to make sure we’re addressing technology needs that have been neglected for far too long, get our Coast Guard to the standard to what the missions are requiring them to be at to be successful. Building more wall, more agents for CBP, more ICE agents and beds so that we can remove illegal criminals out of this country and dangerous individuals that are threatening our public safety.
Secretary Noem continued, “. . . and looking at how we conduct operations on training our law enforcement officers, how we can put CISA back on mission at focusing on cybersecurity, the requests going forward, focus in those areas and TSA, so that we have the technology upgrades that we need to really make sure that we are doing due diligence to secure our country and the systems that help run our critical infrastructure.”
“Your predecessor actually refused to call what was going on at the border a crisis,” Senator Britt began her next question. “It is clear that’s exactly what was happening. You also have shown that coming in, we did not need any new legislation to actually secure the border. You have taken action. President Trump has taken action to secure it, creating a space that we haven’t seen in decades . .”
“Can you talk about the construction of a border wall and what that would do for the men and women of CBP and overall at DHS?” Senator Britt asked. “I know that we are a nation of immigrants. We’re proud of that. We’re also a nation of law. And lawlessness has to stop. And I believe that anybody on this dais that locks their door at night should understand the need for a border wall. The American people should have that level of security when they go to sleep at night.”
“We have currently over 700 miles of border wall, on the southern border and infrastructure that is there, operating today, since President Trump has been in office, we’ve constructed another 77 miles that is in place . . . we will use a combination for what’s appropriate out there for the topography and we’re working with the local states and tribal areas to make sure that it’s something that secures our country, but also is something that they can help support and secure as well,” Secretary Noem responded.
Senator Britt introduced the WALL Act this Congress to build on her efforts to secure the southern border. The WALL Act would appropriate $25 billion to finish building a wall on our southern border without raising taxes on U.S. citizens or increasing the national debt. It would be funded by closing loopholes and eliminating taxpayer-funded entitlements and tax benefits for people who are here illegally. It would also impose monetary fines on people who either come into the country illegally or overstay their visas.
The Senator’s opening remarks can be viewed here, and her line of questioning can be viewed here.
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