Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)
Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) proposed an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 to include his legislation, the PUBLIC SAFETY Act to redirect almost $75 billion in funding passed in the Republicans’ so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and send it instead to local law enforcement programs to help hire and train 200,000 local cops nationwide. This amendment is cosponsored by Representatives Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Susie Lee (NV-03), and Maggie Goodlander (NH-02).
Pappas’s legislation would not affect ICE’s regular appropriations, leaving the agency with historically normal funding levels to conduct traditional immigration enforcement operations.
“While local law enforcement are repeatedly asked to do more with less, this administration is funneling billions in unnecessary funding to ICE to conduct operations that local law enforcement agree are actually making our country less safe,” said Congressman Pappas. “That is why I am introducing this amendment to fund our local police and provide them with the resources they need to protect their communities. I have heard directly from departments about the need for increased resources for recruitment, retention, training, and victim assistance. This amendment will allow local police to invest in the kind of tested and trusted law enforcement we have here in the state of New Hampshire.”
Pappas’s bill would prioritize effective law enforcement by investing in local police officers who undergo thorough training and have real ties to the communities they serve. Specifically, the Providing Useful Budgets for Localities to Invest in Cops by Substituting Appropriations from Federal Enforcement To Yield Results (PUBLIC SAFETY) Act would:
- Reallocate $29.85 billion in OBBBA funds for ICE’s enforcement and operations to the COPS Hiring Program for the hiring of over 200,000 local police officers nationwide;
- Waive the COPS Hiring Program’s matching contribution requirements for small jurisdictions; and
- Reallocate $45 billion in OBBBA funds designated for unnecessary and harmful additions to ICE’s detention capacity to the Byrne JAG program, which provides funding to support training, crime victim assistance, and crime prevention.
While federal law enforcement has an important role to play in targeting undocumented violent criminals and securing the border, the Trump administration’s immigration policies are not keeping Americans safe. Instead, the reckless Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Kristi Noem, is putting thousands of unprepared and undertrained agents in our communities with unacceptable results. In the past year, ProPublica estimates that ICE has detained over 170 U.S. citizens. As of late November 2025, 73% of individuals held in ICE detention did not have a criminal conviction, and less than 5% had a violent criminal conviction. At the same time, ICE has lowered its training and hiring standards, putting undertrained and unvetted agents on the streets, straining already understaffed police departments.
New Hampshire has faced a police staffing shortage in recent years, including documented vacancies for 62 state troopers and dozens of positions across local departments. Pappas’s bill would help address that shortage by dramatically increasing funding for two key programs that help police departments hire and train officers, support victims, and invest in crime prevention, raising funding levels more than 200-fold compared to current levels.
Pappas is a cosponsor of the bipartisan, bicameral Invest to Protect Act and leads the bipartisan EAGLE Act and BUILD Act, all of which would make targeted investments in local law enforcement. The bills would provide vital funds for recruitment and retention, training and accreditation, bringing outdated police facilities up to modern standards, and more.