Sherrod Brown Says He Wants To Close The Border. His Record Tells A Different Story
Sherrod Brown Says He Wants To Close The Border. His Record Tells A Different Story
By Transparency Report Staff
Type: candidate_issue
Full report
Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, says he supports “closing the border” and deporting immigrants who commit crimes as he campaigns to return to the Senate, but his congressional record shows he repeatedly opposed immigration-enforcement and border-security measures during his more than three decades in Washington. “I support closing the border to people so they just can’t cross the border at will, but I also say we, of course, should be deporting people that have committed a crime, surely,” Brown said in an April [interview](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-senate-candidate-sherrod-brown-claims-supports-closing-border-gop-says-record-proves-otherwise). The position marks a tougher posture for Brown, who served in the House from 1993 through 2006 and then spent three terms in the Senate before losing his reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown is now running against Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Brown’s current rhetoric also stands in contrast to remarks highlighted in a recent campaign advertisement, in which the former senator [said](https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/30ded2e3-63e7-4c57-9aee-628d176f4853) he did not “hear a lot about immigration from voters except people on the far right.” The ad juxtaposes that statement with Brown’s new support for closing the border. His voting record on this issue reaches back to his early days in Congress. In September 1996, while serving in the House, Brown [voted](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/1996432) against the conference report for H.R. 2202, sweeping immigration legislation dealing with border enforcement, deportation procedures and other immigration restrictions. The conference report passed 305-123, with Brown joining 116 other House Democrats in opposition. Brown continued to oppose tougher immigration-enforcement measures in the years that followed. Fox News previously identified at least 10 votes over his congressional career against efforts to restrict federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions, along with other votes involving the detention and deportation of criminal illegal immigrants. But Brown’s record extends beyond merely voting against enforcement proposals. In 2019, he [co-sponsored](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1591) the End Mass Deportation Act, legislation aimed at undoing portions of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. The bill sought, among other changes, to rescind Trump’s 2017 executive order expanding federal immigration-enforcement priorities and taking aim at sanctuary jurisdictions. Brown also spent years opposing Trump’s proposed border wall, at various points calling the project “stupid,” “wrong” and “ludicrous,” according to Fox News’ review of his record. That opposition later translated into votes involving existing border-barrier projects. In August 2021, Brown [voted](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00298.htm) against an amendment that would have barred the Biden administration from canceling contracts for physical barriers and other border-security measures where federal funds had already been obligated and cancellation penalties would be incurred. The amendment failed 48-49, with Brown voting “Nay.” Earlier that year, Brown also [voted](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1171/vote_117_1_00089.htm) against an amendment that would have eliminated the Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund and instead appropriated $300 million for chemical-screening devices for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That amendment failed 48-50. Two years later, Brown opposed another measure focused on the border. In June 2023, the Senate considered an [amendment](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1181/vote_118_1_00138.htm) whose official stated purpose was “to secure the borders of the United States, and for other purposes.” Brown voted against the proposal, joining 50 other senators in opposition. The amendment failed 46-51. Those votes have taken on renewed relevance following an April [crash](https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/driver-indicted-on-felony-counts-in-i-71-chain-reaction-crash-that-killed-family-modou-ngom-lynnea-soposki-luke-logan) in Ohio involving a truck driver whose immigration and identity history is now under federal scrutiny. Modou Ngom was [driving](https://www.delgazette.com/2026/04/16/truck-driver-indicted-following-fatal-crash/) a tractor-trailer on Interstate 71 when authorities say he was involved in a chain-reaction crash that killed Lynnea Soposki, Luke Soposki and their 1-year-old son, Logan. Prosecutors later alleged Ngom made no attempt to brake before the collision. Federal investigators are now investigating Ngom for committing fraud involving his U.S. citizenship and identity records. According to information from the Ohio Department of Public Safety cited by Moreno, Ngom first came to the United States in the 1990s and subsequently used several names and birth dates to obtain state and federal identification. Investigators say he obtained an Ohio driver’s license under a different identity around 2003, followed by a commercial driver’s license in 2007, and was later naturalized as a U.S. citizen in the mid-2010s using the same identity. State records later showed his name changing from Lamine Gaye back to Modou Ngom. ABC 6 independently [found](https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/abc-6-finds-alias-name-of-i-71-crash-suspect-modou-ngom-lamine-gaye-multiple-ohio-courts-state-agencies) state and court records connecting the names Modou Ngom and Lamine Gaye, including driving records under both names. The outlet reported that ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were investigating whether Ngom may have committed fraud in obtaining his citizenship, driver’s license and commercial driver’s license. Moreno has [called](https://www.moreno.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/moreno-demands-investigation-denaturalization-after-illegal-immigrant-trucker-kills-3-in-ohio/) for a broader federal investigation into how Ngom was able to move through the immigration and licensing systems and urged officials to consider denaturalization if they determine his citizenship was fraudulently obtained. Ngom’s history spans multiple presidential administrations and involves both state and federal agencies. But the case has renewed scrutiny of Brown’s broader immigration record at the same time he is attempting to present himself to Ohio voters as a supporter of a closed border and tougher enforcement against criminals. Brown now says he supports closing the border and deporting people who commit crimes. Yet during his congressional career, he voted against major immigration legislation, backed efforts to reverse Trump-era enforcement policies, opposed preserving certain already-funded border-barrier contracts and voted against a 2023 amendment whose official purpose was to “secure the borders of the United States.” The contrast mirrors another inconsistency in Brown’s policy proposals. Fox News [reported](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/brown-embraced-amazon-data-centers-blaming-higher-utility-costs-high-stakes-senate-race) earlier this month that Brown once publicly celebrated the expansion of Amazon data centers in Ohio before later campaigning against what he described as their impact on utility costs, framing that record as a reversal between his earlier positions and his current campaign message. On immigration, Brown’s record presents a similar question — whether his newly stated support for closing the border represents a true change in position or just a continuation of policies he’s supported during his three decades in Congress.