Republicans Plan Reconciliation for ICE, CBP Funding

Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced on April 14 that Republicans plan to advance a budget resolution as early as next week, setting the stage for a partisan vote to provide three years of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The move aims to resolve a funding impasse that has left parts of the Department of Homeland Security without regular appropriations for nearly two months.

The Department of Homeland Security has operated under partial shutdown conditions since February 14, when annual funding for the immigration agencies lapsed. This followed an agreement between Republicans and Democrats to separate DHS from a broader spending package, averting a full government shutdown. While ICE and CBP have continued operations through emergency funds and prior multiyear allocations exceeding 100 billion dollars, other DHS components, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Transportation Security Administration, face disruptions. Security lines at airports have lengthened, and some employee salaries rely on executive orders from President Donald Trump.

Democrats have withheld support for restoring full funding unless...