Senate Republicans Propose $72 Billion for Immigration Enforcement and White House Ballroom Security

Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled two funding bills that propose allocating $72 billion primarily to strengthen immigration enforcement. The legislation includes roughly $38.2 billion for ICE through 2029 to support hiring and training officers, homeland security investigators and other personnel, maintaining facilities and conducting deportations.

It also provides $25.4 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $5 billion for the Homeland Security secretary and $1.5 billion for the Justice Department. The bills set aside $1 billion for the Secret Service to fund security features related to the White House ballroom.

Officials have argued the construction, which includes an underground bunker, is necessary for security and national security purposes. The proposal specifies that the $1 billion cannot be used for non-security matters. A White House spokesperson said in a statement that Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds and applauds the proposal.

The administration had previously stated that taxpayers would not bear the cost of the ballroom extension, initially estimated at $400 million. Government lawyers have cited security needs in seeking to proceed with construction without additional congressional approval.

If passed, the funding measures would add roughly $72 billion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bills are structured as reconciliations to a larger Department of Homeland Security funding measure that Congress passed last week to reopen the department after a 75-day partial shutdown.

Funding for the department had lapsed in February after Democrats declined to support a version that included resources for immigration enforcement. That impasse followed an incident in which federal agents killed two U.S. citizens during operations in Minnesota.

The new reconciliation approach would allow passage with a simple majority, without requiring Democratic support. The reconciliation bills were intended to focus on immigration enforcement, but lawmakers included an exception for the ballroom security funding.

A recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been cited by the administration in renewing its push for the project on broader security grounds.

Democrats criticized the inclusion of ballroom funding alongside the immigration measures. Democratic senators stated that the spending priorities favored certain projects over reductions in health care expenses and highlighted recent actions affecting health care access and federal employment.