Representative Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., outlined his priorities for Department of Homeland Security reforms in an interview Monday, calling for increased funding for immigration courts and asylum processing ahead of the February 14 funding deadline. Goldman serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and has been involved in negotiations over DHS appropriations.
The second-term congressman from Manhattan's 10th District argued that current DHS resources are misallocated toward enforcement rather than humanitarian processing. His comments come as House Democrats and Republicans remain divided over how to fund the department for the remainder of fiscal year 2026.
What the Left Is Saying
Goldman stated that DHS should prioritize reducing the immigration court backlog and improving conditions at processing facilities. He told NPR that the current system creates unnecessary detention costs while failing to provide timely asylum hearings, calling it inefficient from both a humanitarian and fiscal perspective.
Democratic colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee have echoed Goldman's call for reallocating resources toward case processing. Representative Bennie Thompson said the party will oppose any funding bill that increases detention capacity without corresponding investments in legal processing infrastructure and immigration judge positions.
What the Right Is Saying
House Republicans have rejected Goldman's proposed reforms as undermining border security. Representative Mark Green, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that reducing enforcement resources would incentivize illegal immigration and compromise national security.
Conservative members argue that the immigration court backlog exists because of insufficient enforcement at the border. The Republican Study Committee has proposed conditioning DHS funding on stricter asylum screening procedures and expanded detention capacity, the opposite of Goldman's recommendations.
What the Numbers Show
Immigration courts currently have 3.2 million pending cases, with average wait times of 4.3 years according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. DHS detention facilities held an average daily population of 38,000 people in fiscal year 2025 at an estimated cost of $134 per person per day.
Goldman's district includes approximately 185,000 foreign-born residents, representing 23% of the population according to Census Bureau data. He won re-election in November 2024 with 68% of the vote in a district that voted for President Biden by 74 points in 2020.
The Bottom Line
Goldman's interview signals that House Democrats will push for restructuring DHS priorities during funding negotiations this week. With four days until the deadline, appropriators must reconcile competing visions for how the department allocates its $62.8 billion budget request. Leadership has not indicated whether a compromise is within reach or if another short-term continuing resolution will be necessary.