Senate Republicans Approve Funding Plan for Immigration Enforcement Amid DHS Shutdown
Senate Republicans on Thursday approved a plan to fund President Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants for the remainder of his term and to facilitate an end to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The budget resolution, adopted in the early morning hours along near party lines, sets the stage for Congress to develop legislation allocating up to $140 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These two agencies, central to Trump's mass deportation agenda, have lacked funding since mid-February when the shutdown began.
The resolution passed by a 50–48 vote, with all Democrats opposing, joined by Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Its advancement is a significant step in the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans are employing to bypass a Democratic filibuster. Democrats have refused to support funding for ICE or CBP following the deaths of two U.S. citizens in January during an intensive immigration operation in Minneapolis.
“We have a multi-step process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,”
said Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The resolution must next be adopted by the House of Representatives before the judiciary and homeland security committees in both chambers can begin drafting legislation to formally release funding for ICE and CBP.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, indicated that if progress is made on the reconciliation bill, he will schedule a vote on a separate measure. This measure, which the Senate passed last month with bipartisan support, would fund the remainder of DHS operations excluding ICE and CBP.
“Sequencing is important. We have to make sure we don’t isolate and make an orphan out of key agencies of the department,”
Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday.
Following the Minneapolis killings, Democrats spent weeks negotiating with the administration on reforms to immigration operations, including banning federal agents from wearing masks and prohibiting warrantless stops. Those discussions ultimately failed, prompting Republicans to move forward unilaterally to fund ICE and CBP.
“Tonight, Senate Republicans showed the American people where they stand: Not for families struggling with the high costs of childcare, groceries, and gasoline, electricity, but for pumping $140 billion towards rogue agencies,”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated after the budget resolution passed.
The Senate approved the measure after a "vote-a-rama" process, allowing lawmakers to propose amendments to the bill.
Democrats used this opportunity to introduce amendments focused on affordability issues they hope will resonate with voters in the upcoming midterm elections. These included proposals addressing grocery prices and out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska—both considered vulnerable in the November elections—supported some of these amendments. However, none received sufficient backing to advance.
