The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would provide an additional $70 billion in funding for controversial immigration enforcement efforts long sought by President Donald Trump.
The bill, passed early Friday morning, would provide funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during President Trump’s term, adding to the huge profits for both Department of Homeland Security agencies from the tax bill passed last year.
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Passage of the funding bill in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-member House, comes after months of delays due to staunch opposition from Democrats who want more funding for government agencies supporting President Trump’s mass deportation drive.
The bill culminated in a series of so-called “vote-a-ramas” in which Democrats forced votes on politically difficult issues for Republicans, most notably an amendment that would have barred Trump from launching a controversial anti-weaponization fund that the Justice Department introduced in recent weeks and later withdrew.
The funding bill now goes to the House, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. If passed, the bill would go to President Trump’s desk to be signed.
What happens next?
The House is expected to consider the bill next week, Republican leaders said. The party holds a 217-212 majority over the Democratic Party, and is considered likely to pass.
Trump faces growing dissatisfaction from some members of his own party, particularly over his handling of the war with Iran, his request for security funding for the White House ballroom, and the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund, but funding for immigration enforcement maintains broad Republican support.
As of Friday, there had been no significant Republican moves to oppose the bill or to condition its passage on other legislative priorities.
Why did it take so long for the funding to close?
Democrats united in January against further funding for immigration enforcement agencies after two Americans were killed by ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the same month.
The Trump-backed tax bill passed in 2025 had already allocated $170 billion to federal agencies, including ICE and CBP, to support the president’s mass deportation drive, but polls show it is increasingly unpopular with voters.
The standoff led to a 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which ended with Congress passing a partial funding bill in late April.
Still, Democrats continued to deny further funding to ICE and CBP. This forced Senate Republicans into a lengthy legislative maneuver to circumvent the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.
But the process, known as budget reconciliation, opened the door to a so-called “vote-a-rama,” a few hours in which senators can introduce amendments to the bill in quick succession.
Parties outside the majority have historically used “vote-a-rama” to force votes on politically difficult issues, forcing opposing members to put their positions on the record.
No obstacles to Trump’s settlement funds
Democrats used Thursday’s proceedings to apply pressure related to President Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization fund.”
The Department of Justice announced the plan in May and said the money came through a settlement between President Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The fund was set at a symbolic figure of $1.776 billion, in honor of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
President Trump said people who believe they have been the subject of politically motivated federal prosecutions can apply for compensation through the fund, including his supporters who were convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Democrats have called the plan a “slush fund” for President Trump’s allies. Several Republican lawmakers also voiced opposition to the plan, but the Justice Department later announced it had abandoned the plan.
Three Republicans joined Democrats in supporting an amendment that would ban the use of the funds, and six Republicans supported an amendment by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis that would ban the program and repurpose the funds. Both were unsuccessful.
Three other proposals related to Trump’s White House ballroom failed.
President Trump initially said there would be no taxpayer funding for the controversial project, but later asked Congress for $1 billion to make it safer.
