$70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill heads to the House

Supervising Producer

WASHINGTON —

The Senate passed a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill early Friday morning, to fund President Donald Trump’s agenda through the remainder of his term after a near party-line vote of 52-47. The legislation now heads to the House for consideration.

What’s in the bill?

The money will be used to hire new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, deport people who are in the country illegally, and upgrade border security. This surge of cash is in addition to the $140 billion these agencies got in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature tax and spending bill.

“What we’re about to do is fund the Border Patrol and ICE through the entire Trump term, because you [Democrats] wouldn’t help us. America will be safer,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Republican budget committee chairman.

What’s not in the bill?

Democrats and a few Republicans introduced dozens of amendments aimed at challenging parts of the president’s agenda and putting Republicans on record regarding controversial policies.

Some amendments sought to outlaw the administration’s anti-weaponization fund, which was intended to compensate individuals who believe they were unfairly targeted by the government. Lawmakers ultimately voted down any restrictions on the fund, which Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier this week the administration is not moving forward with.

“Republicans fought like hell to please Donald Trump in his slush fund, but didn’t lift a finger to help working Americans lower their costs,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Minority Leader.

Republicans removed $1 billion for White House security upgrades and Trump’s ballroom from an earlier version of the bill.

They did not include a law to require proof of citizenship to vote, which Trump had asked them to do.

Republican leaders overcome struggles in Senate

The bill was passed using budget reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to approve the measure with a simple majority. In this case, it sidesteps the normal 60-vote threshold in the Senate to break a filibuster and requires 51 votes to pass. Republicans hold a 53-seat majority.

The process included more than 19 hours of debate in a marathon amendment session known as vote-a-rama.

How did we get here?

This issue dates back to January when Democrats demanded immigration enforcement policy changes after the deadly shootings of two protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis. That resulted in a 75-day partial government shutdown as talks about reforming policies dragged on and then broke down.

Republicans decided to fund immigration enforcement alone, while Democrats supported another bill that paid for everything at DHS except ICE and Border Patrol.

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