The House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a $70 billion bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats who have blocked the agencies’ funding since January.
The Secure America Act, which passed the Senate last week on a 52-47 vote using the reconciliation process, would allocate $38.6 billion to ICE, $22.6 billion to CBP, and $5 billion to the Department of Homeland Security. The bill also includes $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations, according to the legislation’s text. Senators passed the measure Friday with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as the sole Republican opposed.
The bill is expected to pass the House along party lines, though Speaker Mike Johnson faces a narrow margin with Democrats united in opposition. Johnson told CBS News on Monday that he expected the bill to pass with a small margin of error.
“We have to fund border enforcement and immigration enforcement, and everybody here knows that, so they’re going to have to put their personal preferences aside to get the job done,” Johnson said.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said his party would oppose the measure. “House Democrats will be a hard no on the reckless Republican budget reconciliation bill this week,” Jeffries said Monday.
House Democrats added more than 150 amendments to the bill as of Monday, according to CNBC. The amendments are not expected to alter the outcome given the procedural path the majority is using.
The legislation has been shaped by several internal Republican disputes in recent weeks. A proposal for a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that would have paid out Trump allies remains a source of concern among some congressional Republicans. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House committee last week that the fund was dead, but Trump declined to rule out its creation in an interview broadcast Sunday, according to The Guardian.
The bill was also delayed last month by an attempt to include $1 billion for security improvements related to the ballroom Trump is building at the White House. Senate Republicans agreed to remove those funds after the chamber’s parliamentarian ruled they could not be included under the budget reconciliation procedure.
The House is expected to begin debate on the bill Tuesday afternoon. If it passes, the measure will be sent to Trump for his signature, ending the longest funding impasse for immigration enforcement agencies in recent memory. Democrats announced their blockade in January after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation.