Matsui says she opposes any funding for ICE. What does her record say?
Over the last several months, as immigration debates have intensified across the country, Rep. Doris Matsui has repeatedly told Sacramento-area voters that she opposes giving any money to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Take Matsui’s post on X in late January, in which she said “ICE kills people in the street” and “giving them even a single penny is unacceptable.” Two months later, Matsui reminded voters in a video that she has been — and still is — a “HELL NO” on funding for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. One page on her campaign website says Matsui has a record of “repeatedly voting NO on funding ICE.”
And last week, after the House approved along party lines a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that could pave the way for tens of billions of additional dollars for immigration enforcement agencies, Matsui again condemned ICE as a “rogue, paramilitary force” that is “fundamentally broken at its core.”
“We need to tear it down and replace it with one that protects constitutional rights and due process, treats people with dignity and lives up to our values,” her X post said.
But Matsui’s recent rhetoric marks a sharp departure from her congressional voting record in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, alongside the majority of Democrats, she voted for five government spending packages that included nearly $42 billion for ICE.
Her shift in tone comes as many Americans have soured on President Donald Trump’s escalation in immigration enforcement, according to multiple national polls. In response, Democrats in Congress have largely unified in opposition to new funding for immigration enforcement agencies absent major reforms.
“The recent, very visible shifts in activity, and how that’s impacting popular understanding and kind of hurting these narratives of DHS is only about protecting security,” said Nancy Hiemstra, a professor at Stonybrook University whose research focuses on U.S. immigration enforcement policies. “It makes a lot more Democrats willing to kind of shift how they vote.”
Still, in Sacramento, Matsui’s vocal stance has opened her up to scrutiny particularly as she faces her most competitive primary challenge since first winning the seat in 2005. Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang, widely regarded as Matsui’s top opponent, has positioned herself as the progressive in the race and is running on abolishing ICE completely.
“A lot of community members are feeling a frustration right with the current Congressmember’s decisions in the past and having voted for increasing ICE funding,” said Moiz Mir, a community organizer who is backing Vang.
Matsui, in response to questions about her past votes approving ICE funding, said the agency had become an “engine of fear” and she is standing up to “keep Sacramento families together.”
“I have never supported blank checks for any agency to terrorize the people I represent,” Matsui said in a written statement on Thursday afternoon. “That’s why we need to tear ICE down and rebuild an immigration system that protects constitutional rights, keeps communities safe and reflects basic, human decency.”
‘Americans recognize that this is unacceptable’
Matsui’s votes for more ICE funding from 2019 to 2024 came through large appropriations bills, which provide funding to several departments and agencies for the fiscal year. In nearly each instance, she voted alongside the vast majority of House Democrats.
The exception came in 2019 with H.R. 1158, a spending package that included billions for the military and DHS. The bill passed despite opposition from roughly one-third of House Democrats. Criticism mainly came from progressives and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who cited funding for the first Trump administration as “immoral” immigration policies and “unchecked” military spending.
The Senate later passed the measure overwhelmingly, though some progressives including then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and current U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) opposed it.
“Most politicians in the U.S. generally want to seem like, of course, they are in favor of protecting our national security and borders,” Hiemstra said.
That has changed as Democrats are trying to combat the “cruel and illegal excesses of the Trump administration,” said Lucas Guttentag, a professor at Stanford Law School and one of the nation’s leading experts on immigration law.
Trump’s first term also emphasized expanded enforcement, but Guttentag said the current administration has escalated further, with militarized tactics, contested legal interpretations and efforts to strip legal status from immigrants.
“Democrats and many Americans recognize that this is unacceptable, and they want enforcement that respects due process and rejects racial profiling,” Guttentag said.
About 52% of Americans said the Trump administration is doing “too much” to deport immigrants who are living in the country illegally, according to a Pew Research Center survey from March.
Guttentag said withholding funding from immigration agencies is one of the few ways “to rein in the policies and practices of this administration,” especially with its “spotty record” in following critical court orders.
Last week, the House ended the DHS shutdown with a bill that funds all the agencies except for ICE and parts of CBP, both which received an influx of money last year. Republicans are now pushing legislation that could add roughly $70 billion for immigration enforcement operations through the end of Trump’s second term.
“The power of the purse is central when Congress is not satisfied with how the executive branch is conducting itself,” Guttentag said. “It can restrict funding and that is a very effective tool if it’s enacted. Of course, that is a challenge for the Democrats, given that they’re not a majority party.”
‘She’s asking us to trust her’
Matsui, who was born in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, has long emphasized her support for immigrant communities. But over the last year, she has taken a more visible role in immigration enforcement oversight.
In August, she attempted and was initially denied entry twice into the ICE field office in downtown Sacramento after reports alleged people were being held overnight without adequate access to food, water or air conditioning. She was eventually granted entry on a third visit. After each attempt, she held a press conference.
“I am going to fight the Trump administration on this,” Matsui said after one visit. “This is our fight — a fight for everybody.”
Earlier this year, Matsui issued a statement on X after a viral video showed immigration agents detaining a woman in front of a crying child at San Francisco International Airport. Matsui identified the woman as a Sacramento resident, which was later found to be incorrect. Her office said the information came from NorCal Resist, which oversees a rapid response hotline for immigration enforcement incidents in the Sacramento region.
Community organizer Mir said he appreciates some of Matsui’s actions over the years, including visiting the downtown ICE building. But he called them “procedural types of resistance.” He believes much of these public acts are fueled by Matsui finally having a serious challenger after 20 years.
“She’s asking us to trust in her, to trust in the status quo of doing things the way that she’s always done them and doing things the way that she’s always done them is exactly what got us to this point,” Mir said. “It doesn’t work anymore.”
