Senate Passes $70 Billion Immigration Enforcement Bill
CNBC reported Friday that the U.S. Senate approved $70 billion in new appropriations for immigration enforcement. The 52-47 party-line vote sends the legislation to the House. Nearly all of the ICE and Border Patrol funding would land inside the Department of Homeland Security.
Senate Approves ICE and Border Patrol Funding Bill
No Democrat voted in favor of the measure. One unnamed Republican crossed the aisle to vote against it. The bill would supplement roughly $100 billion in unspent DHS enforcement funds already enacted by Republicans last year. House Republican leaders indicated the chamber is unlikely to take up the bill before next week.
The legislation is designed to sustain President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation operation across the next three years. Republicans framed Democratic opposition as an attempt to defund federal immigration agencies. Democrats rejected that characterization, pointing to the existing unspent reserve.
A Chaotic Vote-a-Rama Session
Senate debate stretched through Thursday into the early hours of Friday in a marathon amendment process known as a vote-a-rama. Legislators proposed a series of unrelated riders. One would have blocked federal funds from financing the large ballroom renovation Trump has sought on White House grounds. Another targeted a controversial fund critics describe as a financial reserve for Trump’s political allies.
None of those amendments passed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to strike the so-called anti-weaponization fund entirely. His motion initially stalled after Republican Senator Susan Collins backed it. Senators Jon Husted and Dan Sullivan later joined her. Schumer’s motion ultimately failed 50-49 but exposed fault lines within the Republican conference. Collins, Husted, and Sullivan each face competitive reelection contests this November.
Background on the Anti-Weaponization Fund
The anti-weaponization provision became the session’s most contentious subplot. Critics argue the fund would allow the administration to compensate political allies using public money. The White House and Justice Department have already paused disbursements from the fund. Trump nonetheless declined on Wednesday to confirm it had been permanently ended.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would withhold support for the broader bill unless Republicans could vote to formally codify Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche‘s testimony that the fund was being abandoned. Tillis warned that failing to act would expose vulnerable GOP incumbents to a voter backlash in November. His amendment request was not satisfied before the final vote.
The House is expected to consider the measure sometime next week, where Republicans also hold the majority.
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