The United States Senate has passed a bill long sought by US President Donald Trump to provide an additional $70bn in funding to his controversial immigration enforcement drive.
The bill passed early Friday morning will provide funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) throughout Trump’s term, adding to a massive windfall for both Department of Homeland Security agencies in a tax bill passed last year.
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The funding bill passage in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the 100-seat chamber, comes amid months of delays spurred by staunch Democratic opposition to further funding the agencies behind Trump’s mass deportation drive.
It culminated in a so-called “
vote-a-rama” which saw Democrats force a series of votes on politically fraught issues for Republicans, notably an amendment to bar Trump from ever launching a controversial “anti-weaponisation fund” his Department of Justice introduced, and then back away from, in recent weeks.
The funding bill now heads to the House, where Republicans also hold a slim majority. If passed there, it will head to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
What happens next?
The House is expected to take up the bill next week, according to Republican leaders. With the party holding a 217 to 212 majority over Democrats, its passage is considered likely.
While Trump has faced increasing discontent from some members of his party, particularly over his handling of the war with Iran, his requests for security funding for his White House ballroom, and the Department of Justice’s “anti-weaponisation” fund, funding for immigration enforcement maintains broad Republican support.
As of Friday, no major Republican efforts to oppose the measure, or condition its passage on other legislative priorities, had emerged.
Why did the funding take so long to pass?
Democrats coalesced in opposition to further funding for immigration enforcement agencies in January, following the killing of two US citizens by ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota that month.
A Trump-backed tax bill passed in 2025 had already allocated $170bn to federal agencies, including ICE and CBP, to support the president’s mass deportation drive, which polls have shown has become increasingly unpopular among voters.
The standoff led to a 76-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which ended with Congress passing a partial funding bill in late April.
Still, Democrats had continued to refuse to provide further funding for ICE and CBP. That forced Senate Republicans to use a lengthy legislative manoeuvre to bypass the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.
However, the process, known as budget reconciliation, opened the door to a so-called “vote-a-rama”, an hours-long period when Senators could introduce rapid-fire amendments to the bill.
Parties not in the majority historically have used the “vote-a-rama” to force votes on politically fraught issues, forcing members of the opposing party to go on the record with their stance.
No bar to Trump’s settlement fund
Democrats used the proceedings on Thursday to apply pressure related to Trump’s
so-called “anti-weaponisation fund”.
The Department of Justice announced the plan in May, saying it was funded via a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The fund was set at the symbolic number of $1.776bn, a reference to the 1776 signing of the US Declaration of Independence.
Trump has said people who believed they were the subject of politically motivated federal prosecutions could apply for recompensation via the fund, including his supporters convicted of storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Democrats have called the scheme a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies. Several Republicans have also come out in opposition to the plan, which the Department of Justice has said it has since abandoned.
Three Republicans joined Democrats in supporting an amendment to bar the fund, while six Republicans supported an amendment by Republican Senator Thom Tillis to bar the plan and repurpose the funding. Both failed to pass.
Three other unsuccessful proposals related to Trump’s White House ballroom.
Trump had initially said the controversial project would not be funded by taxpayers, but has since requested $1bn from Congress for security.
<small>Source: Al Jazeera</small>
