The U.S. House is moving toward a vote on a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package that would send the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk after months of partisan conflict. The bill would provide money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, two Department of Homeland Security agencies that were left out of an earlier spending plan because of Democratic opposition.
A final House vote could come as soon as Tuesday, putting the package on a fast track after the Senate approved it in a 52-47 vote early Friday morning. The measure would finance the agencies through the end of Trump’s presidency and appears likely to advance with little, if any, Democratic support.
Why the funding fight escalated
The dispute grew out of a larger clash over immigration enforcement policy that intensified after two civilians were killed by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis during a January immigration enforcement surge. Democrats then opposed funding for ICE and CBP, and the stalemate helped push the government into a more than two-month partial shutdown.
That deadlock eventually forced Republicans to rely on budget reconciliation, a process that allows spending-related legislation to pass the Senate with 50 votes instead of the 60 usually needed to overcome a filibuster. In the House, the bill needs only a simple majority, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will need near-unanimous Republican backing because of the party’s narrow margin.
What the Senate vote signals
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against the measure in the Senate. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the Senate budget panel, said in a statement that Democrats left Republicans little choice after opposing money for border security agencies during the appropriations process.
“We were forced to use the reconciliation process because Democrats objected … to giving any money to Border Patrol and ICE,” Graham said. He added that Trump has taken the border “from the most broken to the most secure in history,” and said the bill would preserve those gains for the rest of Trump’s term.
A late-stage threat that nearly derailed the deal
The package faced fresh uncertainty in late May after Trump announced a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund without consulting Congress. The proposed fund, which could compensate Americans wrongly targeted by the government, including potentially Jan. 6 defendants, triggered bipartisan criticism and nearly derailed the reconciliation effort.
The Senate canceled a planned vote and left town as anger spread inside Republican ranks. Even so, a Democratic attempt to block the fund through an amendment during Thursday’s vote-a-rama fell short, with only three Republicans joining Democrats.
What comes next in the House
The Rules Committee is set to begin consideration Monday afternoon, and House leaders will then try to gather enough votes to move the measure forward. With Democrats expected to oppose the package almost entirely, Republican unity will be the key factor in determining whether the immigration enforcement funding reaches Trump’s desk.
If the House completes final approval, the bill would close one of the most contentious chapters in the immigration fight and lock in funding for ICE and CBP through the rest of Trump’s presidency.
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