Senate Republicans Propose Budget to Fund ICE Until 2029
Senate Republicans unveiled a budget blueprint on Tuesday that would clear the way for another $70 billion in immigration enforcement funding. The plan was written by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. It aims to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of President Trump’s second term.
Plan mechanics and timeline
The resolution would let two Senate committees draft bills increasing spending by as much as $70 billion each. A spokesman for Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said leaders expect the total near $70 billion overall. Republicans hope to move the measure through the Senate within days.
Republicans describe the proposal as a fast solution to a DHS funding impasse. The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than nine weeks.
Two-track legislative strategy
Republican leaders adopted a two-track approach weeks earlier. First, they would pass a spending bill to reopen DHS excluding ICE and Border Patrol. Second, they would use reconciliation to fund those agencies for the remainder of Mr. Trump’s term.
Reconciliation prevents a filibuster on budget-related bills. That would allow the majority to advance funding without Democratic votes.
Internal GOP divisions
Speaker Mike Johnson publicly endorsed the two-track plan. Yet many House Republicans refused to take step one without assurances on step two. They demanded meaningful progress toward a long-term funding stream for immigration enforcement.
Some conservative Republicans also insisted on budget offsets to avoid increasing the deficit. The Senate budget resolution contains no spending cuts to offset the proposed billions.
Political reactions
Republicans argued offsets were unnecessary because this measure targets agencies that would otherwise be funded by annual appropriations. Senator Graham framed the move as urgent national security action.
Democrats criticized use of reconciliation to bypass policy limits on ICE and Border Patrol. They also noted both agencies received a large discretionary fund in last year’s GOP tax and domestic policy package.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said Republicans declined basic accountability measures. She added they were rushing to provide billions more.
Additional context
Some House members pushed to include defense and other GOP priorities with the funding. Speaker Johnson said he wanted the measure narrow and focused.
The budget blueprint is often summarized online with tags such as Senate Republicans Propose Budget to Fund ICE Until 2029. Reporting contributions included work from Megan Mineiro.
- Author of plan: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Majority leader spokesman: Office of Senator John Thune (R-SD)
- House Speaker: Mike Johnson
- Top Senate Appropriations Democrat: Patty Murray (D-WA)
- Department affected: Department of Homeland Security
- Agencies targeted: ICE and U.S. Border Patrol
- Funding sought: roughly $70 billion
- Shutdown length: more than nine weeks
