ICE immigration enforcement funding advances toward Trump’s desk

The U.S. House is expected to vote soon on a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package that would send money to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. The measure follows months of partisan conflict over immigration policy and comes after a prolonged partial government shutdown tied to disagreements over federal funding for border enforcement.

The Senate approved the package early Friday morning by a 52-47 vote, clearing the way for the House to consider it under the budget reconciliation process. That process allows spending legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes usually needed to overcome a filibuster. In the House, only a simple majority is required, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is likely to need near-unanimous Republican support because of the party’s narrow majority and expected unified Democratic opposition.

The funding bill would restore money for ICE and CBP, two Department of Homeland Security agencies that had been left out of an earlier spending bill after Democrats objected. Supporters of the package say it will strengthen border security and lock in policy gains made under Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the Senate budget panel, said Democrats effectively shut down border security by refusing to fund those agencies during the appropriations process.

Democrats have sharply opposed the funding effort since a January immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis left two civilians dead following federal law enforcement action. That dispute helped fuel a partial government shutdown that lasted more than two months and pushed Republicans to use reconciliation to move the bill forward.

The reconciliation effort nearly collapsed in late May after Trump announced, without consulting Congress, a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. The fund was described as a way to compensate Americans wrongly targeted by the government, including potentially some Jan. 6 defendants. The idea triggered backlash from both parties and led the Senate to cancel a scheduled vote before lawmakers left Washington.

Despite that turbulence, the package advanced this week. During a marathon vote-a-rama on Thursday, Senate Democrats tried to add an amendment that would block Trump from creating the fund, but the effort failed. Only three Republican senators joined Democrats in support of the amendment.

Senate Majority and Minority leaders framed the vote as a major political test. Republicans argued the bill protects border security and reinforces Trump’s immigration agenda. Democrats said the GOP prioritized Trump’s political interests over broader cost-of-living concerns. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of defending Trump’s fund while neglecting working Americans.

If the House passes the legislation, it will go to Trump for his signature, delivering a major victory for the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda and ending a long-running fight over how to fund border agencies.