As immigration protests erupt around the nation, a Valley congressman has introduced a bill that would use tax revenue from gambling to fund the agency, which has been a target of those protests.
A measure sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, would redirect federal gambling excise taxes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill, named the “Giving Alien Migrants Back through Lawful Excise Redistribution (GAMBLER) Act,” would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. It seeks to establish a Border Enforcement Trust Fund within the U.S. Treasury, which would receive an estimated $300 million annually. This money, currently directed to the Treasury’s general fund, would instead go to ICE for enforcement, detention, and deportation operations.
