The House on Wednesday approved a Senate-backed budget resolution intended to let Republicans fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the remainder of President Trump’s term without Democratic support. The measure, adopted 215-211, clears a procedural step directing relevant committees to draft legislation to provide roughly $70 billion for those agencies.
Senate Republicans unveiled and passed the blueprint last week to meet a June deadline the White House set for restoring funding to immigration enforcement and to end a partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has persisted since February. Adoption of the resolution does not itself allocate money; it simply authorizes lawmakers to craft the funding bills, which still must be approved by both chambers. Republican leaders say other DHS components will be funded on a separate track.
Republicans said urgency grew after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend, but Democrats argued most of DHS could be funded immediately under a bipartisan Senate bill approved in March. House GOP leaders declined to bring that bipartisan package to the floor, citing conservative opposition that wanted the measure tied to voter ID provisions.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget warned lawmakers that DHS ‘‘will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,’’ and said the department could be unable to pay staff beginning in May despite presidential direction to identify available funds.
Wednesday’s vote exposed divisions within the GOP. What leaders expected to be a quick vote became an hourslong ordeal after some Republicans rebelled over language in an unrelated farm bill. Democrats reiterated they will not approve funding for ICE and Border Patrol without reforms; meanwhile, dispute among House and Senate Republicans over splitting DHS funding has prolonged the stalemate.
At the end of March, the Senate passed a measure that would fund most DHS components but excluded ICE and Border Patrol, with plans to use budget reconciliation to approve immigration-enforcement funding. Reconciliation allows certain budget bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republican leaders felt forced to use reconciliation to ensure the two agencies are funded.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will move the reconciliation bill first and then consider the Senate-passed measure that funds other DHS agencies — including TSA, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard and FEMA. Some House Republicans have criticized the broader DHS bill, arguing its language effectively cuts immigration-enforcement funding; Johnson said his chamber has a modified version that addresses those concerns.
Johnson rejected suggestions of a serious split among House Republicans, the Senate and the White House, saying leaders are coordinated and working as a team. The resolution’s adoption sets the stage for the next phase of negotiations as Congress attempts to resolve the funding impasse and avert further operational disruptions at DHS.