The border is secure—that’s a good thing. ... I support that, we must maintain it, and we will.
We must maintain the current state of border security.
Occurrences
Evidence
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to condemn the escalating chaos and violence from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers under President Trump and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership. In his remarks, Senator Welch recounted stories of people who have faced ICE’s violence and brutality firsthand and called for Congress to candidly assess the impact of the Trump Administration’s violent mass deportation policy.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, joined U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), and 70 bicameral Democrats in calling for a new investigation of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over warrantless purchases of Americans’ location data.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, today joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), and 57 congressional Democrats in introducing the Restoring Access to Detainees Act, bicameral legislation to ensure the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allows noncitizens who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and U.S. Representative Juan Vargas (D-CA-52) in introducing the Temporary Immigration Judge Integrity Act, bicameral legislation to prevent inexperienced temporary immigration judge appointments in light of the Trump Administration’s abuse of loopholes in current regulations.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch joined U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 25 of their colleagues in introducing The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2025, legislation to provide unaccompanied children with legal representation for their court when they appear in proceedings before an immigration judge.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, pushed back on the false narrative that “sanctuary city” policies impede on local law enforcement and jeopardize public safety during a subcommittee hearing titled: Protecting American Citizenship II: Federalism, Sanctuary Cities, and the Rule of Law.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch today joined Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Angus King (I-Maine) in introducing a resolution to recognize the U.S.-Canada partnership and its shared interests in economic, energy and critical minerals, and national security.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, in conjunction with the U.S. Travel “Travel Works” program, an event at Richmond Mountain Trails’ (RMT) The Driving Range, the first fully adaptive-mountain bike accessible trail system in Vermont, located in Bolton.
Assessments
Peter Welch's campaign promise was to maintain the current state of border security. The evidence shows that Welch repeatedly took legislative and advocacy actions aimed at changing aspects of current border policy, including challenging ICE enforcement, supporting legal rights for detainees and minors, and investigating DHS practices. These actions indicate attempts to alter the status quo of border security rather than preserving it as is. None of the evidence demonstrates that he prioritized maintaining existing border security arrangements; instead, his efforts were directed towards reform and oversight. However, his substantial legislative activity in the immigration and border security domain demonstrates serious effort, even though it was not aligned with the promise to maintain the current state.
The overwhelming evidence indicates that Senator Peter Welch took numerous actions—such as introducing and supporting legislation to alter immigration policy, protect detainee rights, criticize current border policies, and challenge existing enforcement practices—that actively sought to change, rather than maintain, the current state of border security. While these actions represent substantial legislative and oversight effort, they directly contradict the promise to 'maintain the current state of border security.' Thus, the promise was not fulfilled, despite significant policymaking engagement.