Senate Republicans Move Forward on Budget Resolution for ICE and Border Patrol
Senate Republicans have taken a significant step by voting to advance a non-binding budget resolution amounting to $70 billion, aiming to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol for the next three years.
This vote, which wrapped up in the early hours of Thursday, is a move towards providing financial support to these agencies amid an ongoing partial government shutdown. The budget resolution passed narrowly by a 50-48 vote, with no support from Democrats. Interestingly, two Republicans—Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky and Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska—opposed the measure.
The situation began escalating in mid-February when Democrats blocked funding legislation for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE and Border Patrol, citing concerns about immigration enforcement policies.
Despite Republicans holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, the ongoing deadlock over funding is exacerbated by the Senate filibuster, which effectively requires a supermajority of 60 votes for most legislation to pass.
The budget reconciliation resolution circumvented this particular Senate obstacle but is not without its own procedural challenges.
“We have a multistep 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,” commented Senate Majority Leader John Thune from South Dakota.
There were several proposed amendments to the resolution, including some addressing healthcare costs, but they were all rejected.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York remarked, “Instead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs.”
Some Republicans expressed dissatisfaction with the resolution for not including specific amendments related to the SAVE America Act, advocated by President Trump and GOP leaders. This legislation aims to ensure election integrity by requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections.
Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana briefly halted the vote to express his discontent over the omission of elements from the act.
“This is the last train leaving the station,” Kennedy stated, although he eventually allowed the voting to continue.
This budget reconciliation plan follows the Senate’s earlier approval of a bill for the rest of the DHS’s funding. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana has indicated that he will not bring the bill to the House floor until funding for ICE and Border Patrol is clearly addressed.
