A funding bill passed by the U.S. House this week allocates some $63 billion to the Department of Homeland Security — including some $10 billion directly to ICE.
Roughly $75 billion was already allocated to the agency through the massive GOP spending bill passed last summer.
The House passed this latest bill in a 220-207 vote this week — without many of the accountability measures pursued by Democrats — like explicit use-of-force policies and a requirement for agents to unmask.
The vote comes amid public outcry over ICE’s tactics in places like Minneapolis. All of Arizona’s Republican representatives voted to move the bill forward, while all of the state’s Democrats opposed it. Sen. Ruben Gallego has said he will oppose the version brought to the Senate.
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In November, Phoenix unanimously approved its middle housing ordinance to comply with a state law that passed in 2024. The ordinance allows multifamily housing in downtown, including in once protected historic neighborhoods. -
Negotiators are focusing on a five-year agreement for sharing water from the shrinking river. Experts say that would provide some much-needed flexibility. -
A pair of education groups are proposing a ballot initiative to rein in Arizona's universal school voucher program — which has ballooned to a nearly billion-dollar-a-year expense since first approved in 2022. -
Wildfire has numerous consequences for the West and, with many statehouses now in session, lawmakers across the region are trying to respond. Now there's a new tool to track reform efforts. -
A new lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union contends that the state can’t stop “advanced practice clinicians” — like nurse practitioners — from performing abortions in Arizona.
