The House narrowly approved legislation on Tuesday directing roughly $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol, funding the agencies through the end of fiscal year 2029. The measure passed 214 to 212 after Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to move funding without Democratic agreement.
The vote ends a 115-day stalemate over immigration enforcement that began after federal officers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year. Democrats withheld support for additional ICE and Border Patrol money to press for reforms to enforcement practices; Republicans responded by advancing the money through reconciliation, a special procedure that limits the Senate’s ability to block the bill.
Senators last week unsuccessfully tried to block the package; one Republican joined all Democrats in opposing it. Critics say the deep partisan split underscores how Congressional oversight has weakened when large sums are appropriated with few conditions attached.
Major elements of the package
Unlike traditional annual appropriations that fund agencies for a single fiscal year, the bill provides multi-year lump sums that need only be spent by the end of FY2029. Among the amounts included:
– About $38 billion for ICE for hiring, pay, training and equipment, including roughly $7 billion for Homeland Security Investigations and $31 billion aimed at enforcement-related work such as attorneys, coordination with local law enforcement and technology;
– Roughly $22 billion for Border Patrol to recruit, train, pay and equip agents, including about $13 billion designated for enforcement activities;
– $5 billion for border security technology and screening, including artificial intelligence tools;
– $350 million set aside for enforcement in localities that do not participate in federal cooperation programs.
Impact on oversight and prior measures
ICE will receive more than three times its typical annual budget under this measure. The agency’s usual yearly funding is about $10 billion; a separate boost of roughly $75 billion passed last summer also dramatically increased resources and supported a rapid hiring surge.
Earlier this year, a separate April bill funded most of DHS but excluded ICE and Border Patrol; that package contained provisions tying funding to accountability measures such as body cameras, detention oversight and deescalation training. By contrast, the new reconciliation funding comes with few operational guardrails and omits reforms Democrats had sought—measures like requiring judicial warrants for home entries, banning masks for officers, or mandating body cameras.
Lawmakers also did not include expanded funding for internal oversight offices that investigate detention conditions, although the April measure had added $20 million for the DHS inspector general specifically to oversee detention facilities.
Responses from both sides
Republicans say they had little choice after Democrats withheld funding to gain leverage on reforms. “We’re attempting here to fund ICE and CBP at last year’s operating budget plus inflation,” said House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) prior to the vote, framing the bill as routine funding to prevent another shutdown.
Some Republicans warned privately and publicly about the precedent of multi-year appropriations. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the lone Republican to oppose the measure in the Senate, argued that appropriating three years of funding weakens the normal budgeting process and reduces Congress’s ability to check immigration policy.
Advocates and oversight critics reacted with alarm. Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center, said previous DHS appropriations had required guarded reporting and treatment standards—such as data on who is detained and rules for caring for pregnant people—that are absent from this package. She called it “very dangerous,” warning the agency will operate with even fewer accountability mechanisms.
Altman also raised concern about the $350 million for enforcement in noncooperating localities, saying the DHS secretary could interpret cooperation standards broadly and direct funds in ways that further deportation operations.
Agency planning and politics
ICE officials have already signaled readiness to deploy new money. Matt Elliston, ICE assistant director for law enforcement systems and analysis, said the agency has compiled a “shopping list” of technology and equipment—from wearable headset displays to data tools—that officials say would support operations.
The political fight that propelled this debate has largely faded from daily headlines. A new DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, has scaled back some high-profile enforcement operations, and other national and international issues have drawn attention away from immigration. Still, lawmakers from places directly affected by the clashes over enforcement say the local effects linger: disrupted schools, shuttered businesses and communities that remember the raids.
For Democrats, the vote is a setback. Even if public backlash to enforcement practices helps Democrats at the ballot box next year, the multi-year funding package limits Congress’s ability to use routine appropriations to press for changes for the remainder of this administration and into the next.