House Passes $70 Billion for ICE Ahead of Shutdown Battle

House passes – The House narrowly passed a nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill, funding ICE, Border Patrol, and unexpected costs through the next three years. Republicans say it secures the border and funds law enforcement; Democrats call it a “slush fund” with t

When the final tally landed, it was not a sweep—it was a tight, partisan line. The House on Tuesday narrowly passed a bill that would provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement. sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature and effectively locking in support for his deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House.

Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, cleared the finish line with a vote of 214-212 over Democratic objections. Republicans used their majority to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law on Wednesday.

The White House says the bill includes $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. $26 billion for the Border Patrol. and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. The administration characterizes the funding as routine annual money frontloaded to avoid breaks—“a virtually uninterrupted flow of money”—as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.

The politics around the bill were never just about immigration. Weeks of party-line maneuvering were complicated by competing proposals tied to White House priorities. The legislation was sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security. including for Trump’s new ballroom. and over a separate $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate allies who say they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

With the bill now focused entirely on immigration enforcement, Johnson framed it as basic responsibility. “It’s long overdue,” Johnson said. “We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.”

Democrats took a different view of what that funding would do in practice. Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas called it a “slush fund for ICE.”

For the officers inside and protesters outside, the stakes were immediate. Law enforcement officers in riot gear stood off against anti-ICE protesters outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 30, 2026, as lawmakers moved to accelerate the funding.

Funding accelerates Trump’s deportation agenda

The bill’s movement comes on top of nearly $140 billion that a Republican-controlled Congress provided last year to ICE and Customs and Border Protection as part of Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats objected to adding more money without significant changes to how the agencies operate. particularly after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. They argued for specific enforcement requirements. including that agents remove masks and display their ID badges during enforcement operations. and that they obtain a judicial warrant before entering private property.

But under the version now headed to Trump, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Republicans weren’t focused on what he described as the priorities of the American people. pointing to earlier cuts tied to Trump’s tax and spending bill. “Republicans have now come back for more. to give ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check. with no oversight. no accountability and no guardrails. ” Jeffries said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise responded by reframing the dispute around public safety. “Make no mistake, if you’re voting yes, you’re not only voting to secure America’s border, you’re voting to fund law enforcement,” Scalise said. “And if you vote no, you are voting to defund the police.”

A monthslong fight over Homeland Security funding set the stage

The bill is the outcome of a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security following the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and other American cities. The dispute triggered the longest shutdown in agency history.

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations while Democrats demanded changes. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding without Democratic votes.

Rep. Jodey Arrington. R-Texas. chairman of the Budget Committee. said the bill would provide “regular. normal funding” through the annual budgeting process and for a longer window so lawmakers would not be stuck in the same fight again. “And we’re going to do it. not for one year. but for three years. so we don’t end up here again.”.

The Senate completed work on the legislation last week during an overnight session on a nearly party-line vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to oppose it.

The timing lands as Trump’s DHS leadership and deportation pressure collide

Supporters and critics both pointed to timing, but they emphasized different pressures. The money will reach the Department of Homeland Security at a moment of leadership change: Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.

While Mullin has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, anti-immigration advocates have pressed the administration to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

At the same time, the administration is making it harder for certain legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. with Temporary Protective Status or to obtain green cards.

On the House side, Johnson’s margin was thin. Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., ended up siding with Democrats on the party-line vote, a reminder that even with Republican control, the close outcome depended on near-perfect attendance and unity.

Democrats used the vote to portray DHS as a troubled agency with spending priorities they said did not match public needs. They accused the department of using new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions, and attack U.S. citizens.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, asked why Republicans would expand funding without requiring reforms. “Republican leadership likes to talk a lot about common sense. but where is the common sense in giving this federal agency essentially unlimited funds without a single reform in place?” Aguilar said.

Republicans answered that they were acting in service of public safety and law enforcement authority. “Democrats can say whatever they want, but what it’s about is public safety. What’s it about is keeping Americans safe,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

Where things stand now

With the House vote locked at 214-212 and the Senate already having passed the measure. the bill’s next step is the White House. Trump is expected to sign it on Wednesday. making it the latest major move to back ICE and the Border Patrol through the next three years as the administration pushes to carry out its deportation agenda.

House ICE Border Patrol Homeland Security immigration enforcement Mike Johnson Lloyd Doggett Hakeem Jeffries Steve Scalise Markwayne Mullin deportation agenda