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The case for 4K Blu-ray in a world of streaming

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The case for 4K Blu-ray in a world of streaming

A decade-plus into the streaming revolution, you’d be forgiven for thinking physical media has had its day. Late last year, Best Buy announced it would no longer be selling DVDs and Blu-ray, just months after Netflix got out of the disc rental market that kick-started its business. According to a 2021 report from the Motion Picture Association, global physical media sales more than halved between 2017 and 2021, falling from $14.9 billion in 2017 to $6.5 billion in 2021.

But more recently, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray has been making headlines for a very different set of reasons. The 4K Blu-ray release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer promptly sold out at major retailers just weeks after its director stood onstage to proudly talk about the amount of care and attention that the team was putting into it. Aside from new releases, there’s also been a steady flow of older titles coming to the format. James Cameron is currently in the midst of rereleasing films including Titanic, Aliens, and The Abyss on 4K discs, and last year, Disney reissued Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

“It’s such a good time to get into it right now”

It’s probably too early to claim that 4K Blu-ray is leading a vinyl revival-style resurgence of physical media. But these headlines piqued my interest as someone who fondly remembers building a respectable DVD collection as a teenager. “It’s such a good time to get into it right now,” Jeff Rauseo, whose Films At Home YouTube channel specializes in reviewing physical media releases, tells me. “It’s getting a lot of traction.”

So what do I have to gain by re-embracing physical media and getting into 4K Blu-rays? And where should I even start?

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Nolan suggests there are at least two different benefits to a 4K Blu-ray disc: AV quality and ownership. “I’m known for my love of theatrical and put a lot of effort into that, but the truth is, the way the film goes out at home is equally important to me,” the director said at a screening last year. “In the case of Oppenheimer, we’ve put a lot of care and attention into the Blu-ray version but also in particular the 4K UHD version and trying to translate the photography and sound that we formatted for the IMAX format, the 70mm releases, and putting that into the digital realm for a version that you can buy and own at home and put on a shelf so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.”

This ownership aspect is the most indisputable benefit of owning a 4K Blu-ray. Licensing deals mean streaming service lineups are in constant flux, and that’s before you get into the likes of Disney culling first-party titles like Willow from its own Disney Plus service. Even digital titles bought outright aren’t totally safe, as we saw when Sony threatened to pull Discovery content its customers had purchased through the PlayStation Store (even if it didn’t go through with it in the end) or the forthcoming shutdown of the Funimation app and website.

What’s particularly nice about owning a 4K Blu-ray is the sense that it has a good chance of being the final physical release a film might get. Cas Harlow, AVForums’ lead 4K Blu-ray reviewer, doesn’t think he’s going to have to replace all his 4K Blu-rays with 8K discs anytime soon like he had to do with VHS, DVDs, and Blu-rays in the past. “If they do 8K you’re edging past what you can justify,” he says. “We’re talking about [4K Blu-ray] as being probably the end physical format, the final physical format.”

Another advantage 4K Blu-ray discs have is the sheer amount of data they can hold, which allows for a much higher bitrate and, hence, higher-quality picture and audio than a typical compressed stream. But experts I spoke to agreed that at least some of these benefits are less clear-cut than they originally were, as both internet speeds and compression technologies have improved.

“The final physical format”

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In a worst-case scenario, like the original broadcast of the Game of Thrones’ season 8 episode “The Long Night,” the benefits of having a high-quality 4K disc can be obvious. When most people watched the episode, the comparatively low bitrates of broadcast and streaming squeezed out a lot of the finer detail and even created visual artifacts. “It had these gray squares and all this compression happening. It was really hard to make out what was going on,” Rauseo recalls. But watch the same episode with the higher bitrate of a 4K Blu-ray, and the difference is stark (ahem). “I have the 4K disk that if you put that in, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what they were trying to do. That’s the vision. That’s what they saw when they were editing and mixing this.’ TV and streaming just couldn’t handle that with compression.”

But compare a good quality 4K stream with a 4K Blu-ray on a regular TV, and the difference can become difficult to spot. TV reviewer Vincent Teoh, of the YouTube channel HDTVTest, says he personally can’t tell the difference between a disc and a streaming service like Sony’s Bravia Core, which has a bitrate of up to 80Mbps.

“When you have a well-mastered movie that is streaming at a high bitrate from Apple TV or whatever, I think most consumers generally wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Teoh says. John Clancy, who runs the Movie Collector YouTube channel, argues you really need a projector and a large screen to get the best out of a 4K disc and that, at regular TV sizes, the differences between physical and streaming can be “a little academic.”

It’s a different story when it comes to sound. “In terms of the dynamic range and compression, the 4K Blu-ray will always trump any streaming service out there,” Teoh says. You might not notice the difference from your TV’s built-in speakers, he admits, but it should be apparent when played through any half-decent soundbar or AV receiver.

Aside from the objective benefits, the collectors I spoke to talked about having an almost emotional attachment to their discs. “There’s just something about human nature and collecting and just having a representation of who you are,” says Rauseo, who estimates he has around 2,500 movies in his collection, including roughly 600 4K Blu-rays.

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“I think most consumers generally wouldn’t be able to tell the difference”

That’s where smaller boutique Blu-ray labels have been able to carve out a niche for themselves with deluxe packages that can often include additional collectibles like books and art cards in the box. Harlow points toward Second Sight Films’ recent rerelease of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as a key example of this trend. “What you’re getting there is a classic film that perhaps no one expected to hit 4K, let alone look great in 4K, that’s been given a loving and not controversial restoration and put in a lavish box set,” he says. According to market research firm Circana, the market for collector’s editions like these rose 85 percent to reach $80 million in the 12 months ending March 2023, and boutique label Arrow Films recently told Variety that its US sales increased 72 percent between 2020 and 2021.

Rauseo likens this trend to vinyl, where smaller boutique labels are serving a niche that major studios seem less and less interested in. Alongside Second Sight and Arrow Films, he cites Vinegar Syndrome, Shout! Studios, the Criterion Collection, Umbrella Entertainment, and Via Vision as some of the most interesting labels operating today.

As I quickly found out, if you ask five different physical media fans for the best discs to start a 4K Blu-ray collection, you’re likely going to get five very different answers. So consider the discs listed below an interesting spread of titles that show off what the format has to offer, rather than a definitive ranking of the best of the best. Other frequently recommended 4K releases include Lawrence of Arabia; 2001: A Space Odyssey; The Shining; Blade Runner (The Final Cut); Blade Runner 2049; and interestingly enough, the modern remake of Murder on the Orient Express (which might look a little out of place on this list of cinematic greats, but being shot on 65mm means the 2017 film looks “fabulous,” Clancy says).

Before we get into the recommendations themselves: a quick note on 4K Blu-ray players. If you’ve got a modern game console with a disc drive, whether that’s a PS5, Xbox Series X or S, or even something older like the Xbox One X or S, then you already have an entry-level 4K Blu-ray player on your hands. But stepping up to a standalone model can come with advantages including support for standards like Dolby Vision and a nicer interface based around a traditional TV remote rather than a gamepad. There have also been reports of game consoles and lower-end 4K players having other minor playback issues and struggling to play larger-capacity 100GB discs.

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If you’re going dedicated, then the go-to recommendation tends to be the Panasonic DP-UB820. Rauseo says there are lower-cost models in Panasonic’s lineup with cheaper build quality and without Dolby Vision, and Sony has a competing model called the UBP-X800M2, but the Panasonic DP-UB820 ticks basically all the boxes.

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.
Image: Paramount Pictures

Top Gun: Maverick

For an example of a modern release that shows off the best the 4K Blu-ray format has to offer, multiple people I spoke to recommended Top Gun: Maverick. “You’re going to be looking at something like that for a demo disc,” Harlow says, pointing to the film’s 6K source material as a key reason for its amazing 4K presentation. “I would think that that’s a good suggestion to someone if they want to pick up one title and go, ‘Yeah, this is what the format is all about.’”

“For a combination of both picture and sound quality, it’s very difficult to beat Top Gun: Maverick,” Teoh says.

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Second Sight’s rerelease of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Image: Second Sight

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

If Maverick shows off what 4K Blu-ray is capable of with pristine source material, Second Sight’s 2023 release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shows what’s possible at the other end of the spectrum. It’s a film “that you never expected to ever look good, that you never expected to have in 4K, landing in a gorgeous box [and] looking spectacular,” Harlow says. Although the limited-edition box set is now out of print, the standard release is still readily available.

Rauseo points out that this isn’t the first time the film has been released on 4K Blu-ray, but Second Sight’s version benefits from a cleaner presentation versus Dark Sky’s US release. If you’re prepared to pay the shipping cost, it’s also a great example of the benefits of 4K Blu-ray’s broad lack of region locking.

Nolan’s use of large-format cameras in films like Dunkirk make for fantastic 4K Blu-ray releases.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Dunkirk

If I weren’t careful, I could have ended up with three or more disc recommendations on this list from Christopher Nolan, a director famous for his love of large film formats like IMAX, which Clancy says will often make for the best-looking 4K discs.

“If you look at any of [Nolan’s] last five films,” Clancy says, whether that’s The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, or Oppenheimer, “you’d be hard pushed to find any 4K disc that looks better than any of them. If you start with the best, you end up with the best no matter how you shrink it down.”

While Dunkirk is my personal favorite of the bunch, Oppenheimer, or any number of the director’s films, would make great entries in any 4K Blu-ray collection.

Numerous classic films like Jaws have received beautiful rereleases on the modern format.
Image: Universal Pictures
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Jaws

Jaws might not have been shot on a large-format film, but for Rauseo, it’s a great example of a film that everybody’s seen but that few will have seen in this sort of detail. “You put that [disc] in and it’s the full 4K restoration at its highest quality,” Rauseo says. “This is without any compression. It’s pristine.”

The Ten Commandments

While a lot of proponents of 4K Blu-ray focus on resolution and detail, Clancy recommends the 1950s classic The Ten Commandments as a film whose colors are the real star. “If you want to see the best Technicolor on 4K, have a look at The Ten Commandments,” Clancy says. 

The movie was shot on VistaVision, a film format that debuted in the 1950s that involved shooting horizontally onto 35mm film rather than vertically, resulting in a larger frame size and more detail. But in Clancy’s view, the biggest strength of this release is its rich colors. “You’ve got that rich Technicolor,” he says, “The blackest blacks, the reddest reds, the most light. Well, it was larger than life colors.”

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The Warner Bros. collection includes 30 discs spanning the studio’s century in existence.
Image: Warner Bros.

Honorable mention: Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary Studio Collection

Is it cheating to include a massive box set on a list of great starter discs for a 4K Blu-ray collection? Probably. Is it annoying that the Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary Studio Collection isn’t readily available in North America and retails for the eye-watering sum of £300 (around $381) in the UK? Firmly, yes. But if you’re prepared to spend the money importing it, then Harlow thinks the recent Warner Bros. box set is a great starting point for a new collector.

Highlights from the set include classics like Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Shining, through to modern audio-visual delights like Mad Max: Fury Road.

“You’re getting a broad spectrum of films that should, arguably, be in everybody’s collection,” Harlow says. “There’s going to be 10 that you would never probably pick up, but you ought to have… and you ought to watch. And there’s going to be 10 which are absolutely on your list. And then there’s going to be 10 which you’re very happy to have.”

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I don’t think I’m ever going to have the same relationship with 4K Blu-rays that I once had with DVDs as a teenager. For starters, a lot of the films and TV shows that I’d want to buy (The Wind Rises, Ida, Succession, Fight Club, Zodiac) simply aren’t available in 4K, and it’s difficult to know if they ever will be. And when streaming offers such easy and often affordable access to practically every modern title, it’s hard not to use it to watch a new film that you’re not sure you’ll ever return to.

And yet, I want to find space for at least a few 4K Blu-rays on my shelves. Partly because, yes, I want to know I’m seeing and hearing them at their best. But I also want to make space for my favorite films in a very literal sense. After a decade of renting and streaming, I’ve got little more than a chaotic page of notes in Notion and my own terrible memory to remind me what my favorites have been. Maybe a shelf full of discs will help me change that.

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Microsoft is disabling Office 2019 for Mac next month

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Microsoft is disabling Office 2019 for Mac next month

Microsoft’s Office 2019 apps for Mac will stop working next month, because the company isn’t renewing a certificate that validates Office licenses. Owners of Office 2019 for Mac are being warned they’ll have to purchase Office 2024 or a Microsoft 365 subscription if they want to continue editing documents.

Microsoft previously promised that “all your Office 2019 apps will continue to function,” when it announced end of support in 2023. The company then quietly updated that support note last month to remove the mention of apps continuing to function, replacing it with “Rest assured that all your Office 2019 apps won’t lose any data.”

Starting on July 13th, Office 2019 for Mac and Office 2021 for Mac will both run in “reduced functionality mode,” allowing people to open files but not edit, save, or create new documents. The reduced functionality will impact Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.

While Microsoft is providing a certificate update for Office 2021 as it’s still supported until October 13th, 2026, the company is leaving Office 2019 for Mac users out in the cold as support for these apps ended a few years ago. “Office 2019 for Mac reached end of support on October 10, 2023, and no longer receives updates,” says Microsoft. “Because Office 2019 cannot be updated to the required version, this issue cannot be resolved by updating or reinstalling Office 2019 for Mac.”

JimmyTech points out that old versions of Microsoft 365 apps on Mac and iOS will also be affected by this certificate issue, but a simple update will fix it for those users.

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Microsoft regularly ends support of software and there’s always the risk you could run into issues running older apps or versions of Windows. It’s still surprising to not see Microsoft make an exception here though, particularly because this certificate issue breaks the main functionality of an app you’ve paid a one-time license fee for.

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Android fake call detection warns you about scams

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Android fake call detection warns you about scams

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

You know that little moment when your phone rings and the name on the screen makes you drop everything?

Maybe it says your spouse, your daughter, your boss or your best friend. You answer because you trust the name. Then the voice sounds familiar too.

That is exactly what makes the latest phone scams so dangerous.

Android’s fake call detection can warn you when a caller may be pretending to be someone saved in your contacts. (Silas Stein/Picture Alliance)

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Scammers no longer have to call from a strange number. They can spoof a trusted contact’s phone number. Then they can use AI voice tools to sound like someone you know. Android is now rolling out a new feature called fake call detection to help warn you when that familiar call may be a fake.

FAKE AGENT PHONE SCAMS ARE SPREADING FAST ACROSS THE US

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What is Android fake call detection?

Android fake call detection is a new protection built into Phone by Google. It is designed to spot suspected spoofed calls when both people on the call use Phone by Google.

Think of it as your phone quietly asking, “Is this call really coming from that person’s device?” If the answer looks suspicious, your phone can show a warning and advise you to hang up. That small alert could stop a scam before fear, panic or confusion takes over.

ANDROID SECURITY UPGRADES OUTSMART SCAMS AND PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY

How Android fake call detection works

The feature works automatically in the background. You do not need to answer a quiz, scan a code or press a button during the call. When a trusted contact calls you, their phone sends a silent confirmation signal to your phone. That signal helps prove the call really came from their device.

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If a scammer spoofs your contact’s number, that confirmation signal may be missing. Your phone then checks with your contact’s actual device. If the real device says it is not placing a call, your screen can warn you that the call may be fake.

The system uses end-to-end encrypted RCS technology, so the check happens privately. You can also turn the feature off in Phone by Google settings.

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Why fake calls are getting harder to spot

For years, caller ID gave people a sense of control. If the name looked familiar, most of us felt safer picking up. That old habit now works in the scammer’s favor.

Scammers can use internet-based calling tools to spoof numbers. That means your phone may display the name of someone you trust, even though the call comes from somewhere else.

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Then comes the AI voice trick. With today’s audio tools, scammers can make a fake voice sound shockingly real. They may pretend to be a family member in trouble, a bank employee warning about fraud or a manager asking for urgent help.

SCAMMERS EXPLOITED MOM’S FEARS TO STEAL HER ENTIRE LIFE’S SAVINGS

That combination makes the call feel personal and immediate. It also makes you more likely to act before you think.

Why Android is adding this protection now

Impersonation scams have become a major global problem. INTERPOL’s March 2026 Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment cited impersonation fraud as one of the leading contributors to more than $400 billion in global losses.

In the U.S., impersonation scams remain one of the top fraud categories reported to the FTC. Losses reached $2.95 billion in 2024.

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GLOBAL SCAM CRACKDOWN LEADS TO 276 ARRESTS

Those numbers tell you why this feature deserves attention. Scammers go where the money is. Right now, they know trusted voices and trusted names can open the door.

Which Android phones get fake call detection?

Google says fake call detection is rolling out globally in Phone by Google this month, starting with Pixel devices.

The feature is available on Android 12 and newer devices with Phone by Google, Contacts and Google Messages installed. It also requires RCS capability in Google Messages.

SAMSUNG MESSAGES ENDING? WHAT ANDROID OWNERS MUST KNOW

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There is one key limitation. Both you and the person calling you must use Phone by Google for fake call detection to work.

Phone by Google already comes as the default phone app on many Android devices. If your phone uses a different calling app, you can install Phone by Google from the Play Store and set it as your default phone app.

How Android fake call detection protects you

This feature gives you an extra warning at the exact moment you need it most. That timing is important. Scam calls often rely on emotion. The caller may say someone got arrested, a loved one had an accident or a bank account faces an urgent threat.

SSA IMPERSONATION SCAMS ARE GETTING MORE PERSONAL

When the voice sounds familiar, your guard drops. A warning on your screen can interrupt that emotional rush. It gives you a reason to stop, hang up and verify the story another way.

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What Android fake call detection cannot do

This new tool helps, but it cannot protect you from every scam. It may not work if the other person does not use Phone by Google. It also may not cover calls from businesses, unknown numbers or contacts using unsupported devices. So you still need basic scam rules.

If someone asks for money, gift cards, crypto, account codes or remote access to your device, hang up. Then call the person or company back using a number you already trust.

Also, never stay on the line just because the caller tells you to. That is one of the oldest pressure tactics in the scammer playbook.

A spoofed call can look familiar on your screen, even when it is really coming from a scammer. (Kurt CyberGuy Knutsson)

How to protect yourself from AI voice scams

AI voice scams work because they sound personal, urgent and believable, so your best defense is to slow the conversation down before you act. 

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1) Create a family safe word

Pick a simple word or phrase that only your close family knows. It should be easy to remember but hard for a scammer to guess. Then, if someone calls with an emergency and asks for money, ask for the safe word. If they cannot give it, hang up and verify the story another way.

9 WAYS SCAMMERS CAN USE YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO TRY TO TRICK YOU

2) Pause when the call feels urgent

Scammers want you scared because fear makes people act fast. That is why fake emergency calls often sound intense, emotional and rushed. Take a breath before you do anything. A real loved one, bank or employer will let you verify what is happening.

3) Call back using a trusted number

If a call feels suspicious, hang up. Then call the person back using a number saved in your contacts or one you know is real. Do not use a number, link or instruction the caller gives you. That could send you right back to the scammer.

4) Never send money or codes during the call

Do not send gift cards, crypto, wire transfers or payment app transfers because a caller sounds convincing. Also, never share a one-time passcode, PIN or account login code over the phone. Once scammers get that information, they can move fast.

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5) Turn on scam protections on your phone

Use the built-in protections already available on your device. Pixel and Samsung users can enable Scam Detection in the Phone by Google app to help flag suspicious calls. Also, consider using strong antivirus software that includes AI-powered scam protection to help detect scams in texts, online content and deepfake videos. Keep an eye on call warnings too. If your phone tells you something looks risky, treat that alert seriously. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

6) Keep your phone apps updated

Update Phone by Google, Google Contacts and Google Messages when updates are available. These tools work best when your apps and phone software stay current. Updates often include security improvements, bug fixes and new scam protections.

Here’s how to check for updates on Android:

  • Open the Google Play Store app.
  • Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
  • Tap Manage apps & device.
  • Under Updates available, tap See details.
  • Look for Phone by Google, Google Contacts and Google Messages.
  • Tap Update next to each app, or tap Update all.

You can also turn on automatic app updates by opening the Google Play Store app, tapping your profile icon, then going to Settings > Network preferences > Auto-update apps. From there, choose whether to update apps over Wi-Fi, over Wi-Fi or mobile data, with limited mobile data or not at all. 

Kurt’s key takeaways

If a call feels urgent or suspicious, pause before you respond and verify it another way. (Tristan Spinski/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Android’s fake call detection is a smart step in the fight against AI-powered phone scams. It recognizes something many people already know: the name on your caller ID no longer proves the person calling you is real. This feature gives Android users another layer of protection when scammers try to hijack trust. Still, the safest move remains simple. Slow down, verify the call and never let panic make the decision for you.

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Should the government do more to stop scammers from using AI voices to impersonate the people you trust?  Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com

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Congress just gave DHS another $70 billion

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Congress just gave DHS another  billion

Congress narrowly voted to fund President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, giving the Department of Homeland Security $70 billion over the next three years.

The house voted 214 to 212 in favor of the reconciliation bill Tuesday, following the Senate’s 52-47 vote last Friday morning. The vote fell largely along party lines. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was the only Senate Republican to vote against it. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), initially voted against the bill — meaning it would have failed — but changed his vote after huddling with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK), according to The Hill. No Democrats voted in favor of the funding bill, which was done through a budget reconciliation process to avoid a Democratic filibuster.

In a speech on the House floor ahead of the Tuesday vote, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) criticized Republicans for using the budget reconciliation process to avoid negotiating with Democrats, and emphasized ICE’s lack of popularity with the American people.

“At its core, this Republican reconciliation budget bill is a statement about priorities, and the priorities represented in this budget bill could not be more out of step with the needs and values of the American people,” Scanlon said.

Scanlon noted that DHS has yet to spend $100 billion of the nearly $200 billion it received under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. She added that Trump has not only expanded ICE’s reach by increasingly going after legal immigrants but also weaponized DHS against its critics. The bill, she said, will “supercharge” Trump’s abuses.

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After the House markup last Friday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, noted that the bill not only lacks sufficient reforms but also cuts funding for cybersecurity and TSA, whose workers went weeks without pay during the DHS shutdown.

The funding bill comes at a time of deep unpopularity for ICE. One recent poll found that just 33 percent of voters approve of how the agency is doing its job.

And it comes amid yet another threat from border czar Tom Homan to flood New York City with ICE agents. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Homan said he would send “more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen” to New York City if the state government passed a bill limiting cooperation with DHS.

“Providing a quarter trillion dollars to an administration promising that the public ‘ain’t seen shit yet’ when it comes to mass deportation is a historic mistake,” Todd Schulte, president of the immigration reform group FWD.us, said in a statement. “Supercharging the funding for these already out of control systems will come with terrible human consequences and continue to be met with increasing opposition from voters.”

Correction, June 9th: A previous version of this story said Rep. Tim Walberg voted against the funding bill. He initially voted against it but then changed his vote to support it.

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Update, June 9th: This story has been updated to include comment from FWD.us president Todd Schulte.

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