On Tuesday, the plan was revealed: Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unveiled a plan to fully fund the Border Patrol and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the end of President Trump's current term.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled a budget resolution Tuesday that would fully fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for three and a half years, through the end of President Trump’s time in office.
Senate GOP aides say they expect the final budget reconciliation package to spend between $70 billion and $80 billion to fund ICE and Border Patrol through 2029.
The 58-page resolution calls for total federal spending of $60 trillion in on-budget outlays over the next decade and nearly $80 trillion in total outlays when spending on Social Security and the Postal Service are included, according to a summary table produced by the Senate Budget Committee.
We might remember the recent chaos in the nation's airports caused by the Democrats' refusal to fund the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. This proposal sidesteps the worst Democratic resistance by sending this up as a reconciliation bill.
“Republicans are doing something that must be done quickly and that our Democrat colleagues are trying to prevent us from doing. That something is simple: fully fund Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great threat to the United States,” Graham said in a statement.
“With this budget resolution, we are moving forward — not backward — on rational immigration policies that secure our border,” he said.
The measure includes reconciliation instructions to the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee, ordering them to each propose changes to the law that don’t increase deficits by more than $70 billion during the 2026-2035 budget window. That would allow the panels to recommend proposals increasing the deficit by up to $140 billion in total, according to Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) reportedly plans to start voting on proposed amendments later this week. The budget reconciliation process apparently planned for this spending package bypasses the 60-vote Senate filibuster threshold, which greatly improves any such bill's likelihood of passing, as it's very likely that Senate Democrats will be in opposition, with the possible exception of Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) who appears to be one of the few (perhaps only) sane Democrats left in Congress.
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Democrats have, in fact, fought any funding proposal for immigration enforcement at every turn. Will this use of reconciliation allow the GOP to sidestep them? We'll see.
Now, think we might see a vote on the SAVE America Act anytime soon?
Editor’s Note: ICE and CBP continue to put themselves in harm's way in order to protect America’s sovereignty and to keep our streets safe.
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