WASHINGTON - 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.

Rulli stated the legislation aims to provide additional funding for border enforcement without raising taxes.

"Working-class Americans are paying the price while blue states and sanctuary cities harbor millions of illegal aliens who wave foreign flags in our streets, vandalize property, and drain resources meant for our own citizens," Rulli said in a statement. "Our neighborhoods are being overrun, our laws ignored, and our voices silenced by an out-of-touch elite that refuses to act."

The congressman added that the legislation is intended to give ICE resources to "secure our borders and enforce our laws."