House Republicans Approve Immigration Enforcement Funding Plan
In a close decision, House Republicans approved a budget plan late Wednesday, securing over $70 billion for future immigration enforcement. The vote, which dragged on for more than five hours due to disagreements among party members, ended with a tally of 215 to 211.
This vote marks the beginning of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after a record 74-day hiatus following the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Interestingly, former Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley from California, who left the party earlier this year, chose to vote present.
Republicans are skillfully using the complicated Senate reconciliation process, aiming to prevent Democrats from filibustering the border security bill.
While Democrats agreed to fund the remaining parts of DHS, it’s worth noting that this funding expired on February 14.
A bill addressing this situation had previously cleared the Senate, but House Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana indicated plans to revise its language before it comes up for a vote in the House.
However, House members are expected to enter a two-week recess on Thursday, putting comprehensive DHS funding discussions on hold until mid-May.
Attempts by Republicans to secure funding for CBP and ICE nearly fell apart over disputes related to the Omnibus Farm Bill, which Congress must pass every five years to set agricultural and nutrition policies.
A controversial bipartisan proposal to permit 15% year-round ethanol fuel sales faced opposition from lawmakers concerned about its impact on small refineries. Given that most gasoline contains 10% ethanol, derived largely from corn, increasing this to 15% was viewed as a significant potential benefit for farmers.
After extensive discussions, lawmakers agreed to remove the ethanol provision from the farm bill, postponing its consideration to a later date.
On Wednesday morning, amidst ongoing negotiations, Republican leaders successfully called for a vote to extend contentious surveillance powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), though this bill could face challenges in the Senate.
During a break between votes, Johnson joked about his current role, likening himself to a triage surgeon on the battlefield.
There were also some discontented voices among Republicans regarding the budget resolution targeting ICE and CBP funding. Some fiscal conservatives wished to incorporate additional spending cuts, while others called for more clauses in the proposed budget settlement.
According to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the temporary funding that has been keeping the department operational is set to run out next month.
The proposed budget blueprint allocates $70 billion to both ICE and CBP, yet the primary authors believe the overall agreement will ultimately fit that $70 billion figure for both organizations.
Former President Trump established a June 1 deadline for Congress to finalize this settlement.
As a temporary emergency measure initiated by Trump to maintain certain DHS operations without Congressional approval approaches its expiration next month, Secretary Mullin expressed concerns about the implications of not securing further funding.
“My paycheck through DHS is just over $1.6 billion every two weeks. So the money is flowing very quickly, and once that happens, there’s no emergency fund after that,” he remarked during an interview last week.
“There’s one more paycheck left, but the emergency fund is gone. The president can no longer issue executive orders because the money is gone,” he added.
