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3h ago

Senate Approves $70 Billion Bill to Fund ICE and Border Patrol

The measure moves to the House with no statutory ban on a disputed $1.8 billion DOJ settlement fund whose legal and political fate remains uncertain.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on June 3, in Washington, DC.
The US Senate passed $98 billion in additional funding for immigration enforcement. (AP PHOTO)

Overview

  • The Senate passed the $70 billion immigration enforcement measure early Friday by a 52-47 vote using budget reconciliation to bypass a 60-vote filibuster.
  • The bill directs roughly $38.6 billion to ICE, $22.6 billion to Border Patrol, $5 billion to DHS and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations.
  • Lawmakers defeated multiple Democratic and Republican amendment attempts during an extended vote-a-rama to bar or reallocate the roughly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ settlement fund, exposing divisions among GOP senators.
  • Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the Justice Department is not moving forward with the fund and a federal judge temporarily enjoined transfers, but President Trump praised the idea and bipartisan lawsuits keep the fund’s future unsettled.
  • Next steps include House consideration next week and continued scrutiny over the fund’s use of the DOJ Judgment Fund, a mechanism that lets the government make certain payments without a new appropriation, which raises oversight and political concerns.