Senate Passes $70B Border Enforcement Bill

The Senate passed legislation providing $70 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. The measure cleared on a 52-47 vote after an overnight session that ended shortly before sunrise Friday.

The legislation also includes $5 million for child exploitation investigations and an $8 billion fund tied to the settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.

The Senate rejected Democratic efforts to permanently ban the Trump settlement fund. Senate Republicans used the budget reconciliation process, which permits passage with a simple majority. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican to vote no.

All Democrats voted against the bill, and Sen. Michael Bennet missed the vote. Murkowski said she supports funding for ICE and CBP but objected to using reconciliation to provide three-and-a-half years of funding outside the regular appropriations process.

She also cited concerns with including the anti-weaponization fund in the package. According to ABC News, the bill appropriates money to border enforcement agencies and resolves the presidential lawsuit using the reconciliation tool. Politico reported that Senate GOP advanced the immigration enforcement bill.

Semafor noted that immigration funding passed the Senate while a separate surveillance bill was blocked. No publicly released evidence in the source materials documents the operational details of specific enforcement actions funded by the $70 billion. House passage remains the next step before the measure can reach President Trump’s desk.