House Sends Major Immigration Funding Bill To Trump’s Desk

The razor-thin Republican majority in the House passed the $69.5 billion reconciliation immigration enforcement package Tuesday, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law.

The Secure America Act would provide over $30.73 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $22.57 billion to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $2.5 billion in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations through 2029. Some House Republicans threatened its passage, arguing it would not solve the immigration crisis in the long-term.

Before the bill passed, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told the Daily Caller News Foundation they were confident that the package would reach Trump’s desk.

“Over the past year and a half, President Trump and House Republicans have worked to secure the border and remove illegal aliens from our country. As our Republican Leadership Team has done time and time again, the House GOP will keep Americans safe by passing funding for the heroes of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol,” Emmer said.

Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Tim Burchett of Tennessee initially voted against a procedural rules vote. Burchett told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he voted “no” on a procedural rules vote to amend H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, into the package. The legislation passed the House on May 11, 2023, and would restrict immigration, tighten asylum rules and resume border wall construction.

“It wasn’t necessarily against it, all I was doing, it was a procedural move so we could get H.R. 2 on,” Burchett told the DCNF.

Burchett and Roy voted “yes” on the final rule tallies, allowing the bill to advance in a 213-211 vote.

Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who has expressed concern about the package, stated Tuesday that Congress must codify Trump’s immigration policies into law. He told the majority whip team Monday that he was undecided on the procedural vote because a Democratic administration could undo all of the administration’s progress on immigration, according to Politico.

Republican leadership pushed for its passage with the midterm elections looming. Both chambers have a long list of legislation they would like to pass before the midterms, including the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which would require all voters to provide documentation proving their U.S. citizenship before casting a ballot in a federal election.

Trump wanted the package on his desk by June 1, though the Senate delayed its passage after a handful of Senate Republicans demanded that they settle their differences on the administration’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped on June 2. The fund intended to compensate people who claimed the justice system was weaponized against them.

A handful of Senate Republicans, including Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Katie Britt of Alabama feared that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) fund would compensate Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters convicted of assaulting police officers. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was “not a fan” of the fund, adding that certain guardrails should have been affixed to it.

After the fund’s cancellation, the Senate passed the package in a 52-47 vote, with Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski being the only member of her party to vote against it. The Senate underwent an 18-hour vote-a-rama where senators attempted to add several amendments to the package, including the SAVE America Act, which failed after Republicans Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of South Carolina voted with Democrats to strike it down.

The package came after the 76-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began on Feb. 14. The Democrats refused to fully fund DHS in response to immigration enforcement killing Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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