Key facts
- US Senate approved $70 billion for immigration enforcement agencies.
- The bill passed the Senate with a 52-47 vote.
- Funding is for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.
- The legislation is intended to fund agencies through the end of Trump's term.
- The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The U.S. Senate passed a $70 billion bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump's term. The legislation, approved with a 52-47 vote, faced delays due to debates surrounding a $1.776 billion settlement fund intended for individuals claiming political persecution. Republicans largely supported the funding, while Democrats sought to ban the settlement fund, which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated would not proceed. Several amendments related to the fund were debated and ultimately defeated. Senator Bill Cassidy proposed redirecting the fund to law enforcement injured on January 6, 2021, while Senator Thom Tillis suggested moving the money to a DOJ anti-fraud fund. The bill now proceeds to the House of Representatives. The package to fund agencies including ICE until the end of Trump's term had face Democratic opposition over immigration agents killing two US citizens. The Senate passed legislation to fund President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agencies early Friday, after weeks of delays and backlash to an unrelated $1.776 billion settlement fund that threatened to derail the bill. Senators voted 52-47 to pass the $70 billion legislation to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for the next three years, through the end of Trump's term, after Democrats had blocked the money for months. The bill will now head to the House, which is expected to take it up next week. The final vote came just before 5 a.m., after Republicans narrowly defeated multiple attempts by members of both parties to add language to the bill that would permanently ban Trump's settlement fund for allies who believe they've been politically persecuted. Republicans cleared the last major hurdle overnight when they defeated an amendment proposed by one of their own members, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, that would have redirected payments from the settlement to members of law enforcement who were injured when a mob of Trump supporters seeking to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The amendments were a test of party unity that complicated what should have been an easy vote for Republicans who wanted to keep the focus on immigration enforcement in an election year. Instead, they spent almost a full day haggling among themselves over whether to block the settlement fund, even after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had said earlier this week that it would not go forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said shortly before midnight that the bill would have been done several hours earlier if not for the issues around the fund. Thune has criticized the fund, which was part of a settlement that resolves Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns and has angered many of his GOP colleagues. He has been pushing GOP senators for weeks to keep the bill focused on the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol and to avoid adding new provisions that could complicate its passage in the House. Still, a group of Republican senators pushed all day and into the night to block the fund's payouts through legislation. That effort came after Trump raised new doubts about the fund's future on Wednesday, just after the Senate had voted to start debate on the bill, when he told reporters that it is “very important” and said “I don't know” whether it is dead or on hold.