House Republicans Approve $70bn Immigration Crackdown Bill as Trump's Secure America Act Heads to President's Desk

Washington, D.C. – House Republicans on Tuesday approved a $70 billion bill funding the agencies leading Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants through the duration of his term, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats that at one point forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shutter for 75 days.

The Secure America Act passed in a 214-212 vote that was largely along party lines, with Kevin Kiley, an independent who aligns with the Republicans, joining all Democrats in voting no. The Senate approved the measure last week, allocating $38 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $26 billion to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and $5 billion more to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 2029. The legislation now awaits President Trump's signature.

'A Useful Reminder to the American People'

"With today's vote, House and Senate Republicans have officially ended the third Democrat government shutdown of this Congress," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said following the measure's passage.

"All that Democrats have achieved by their shutdown is a useful reminder to the American people of their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in American communities – policies that have been soundly rejected by the American people over and over again. We hope this episode serves as a future reminder to Democrats that when they shut the government down, they will receive less than nothing in return."

The 75-Day Shutdown That Preceded the Bill

The bill ends a blockade of funding for the agencies, which Democrats announced in January after federal agents killed two US citizens in Minneapolis amid an intensive campaign billed as rooting out undocumented immigrants. Their boycott – and fruitless effort to negotiate reforms to federal immigration enforcement operations – halted passage of a measure that authorized spending by the entirety of DHS, forcing it to shut down for 75 days from mid-February.

The department reopened at the end of April after Democrats agreed to support legislation that paid for all of its operations excluding ICE and CBP. Republicans then moved to approve funding for those agencies through the duration of Trump's presidency, saying it was necessary to prevent Democrats from shutting down DHS again.

Democrats: 'A Blank Check Without Any Guardrails'

House Democrats unanimously opposed the bill, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying it would "waste $70 billion in taxpayer money to give a blank check to ICE without any guardrails, any oversight, any accountability."

Republicans countered by accusing Democrats of trying to "defund the police" and allow undocumented immigrants to enter the country freely.

"Make no mistake, you're voting yes, you're not only voting to secure America's borders, you're voting to fund law enforcement," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said of the bill's supporters. "You vote no, you are voting to defund the police. Those are the people, the law enforcement officers, risking their lives to keep our community safe."

Senate Marathon: 52-47 Vote After 'Vote-a-Rama'

The Senate passed the legislation early Friday morning in a 52-47 vote with no Democratic support. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican who voted against the bill. The legislation used a budget reconciliation process to sidestep the Democratic filibuster, allowing passage with a simple majority.

The vote came after a marathon "vote-a-rama" session where senators considered numerous amendments into the early morning hours.

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey offered an amendment at about 10:30 PM Thursday to restore funding to the office of the immigration detention ombudsman, an independent watchdog investigating abuses by ICE and CBP against detainees. The office had been winding down operations due to budget constraints during the shutdown. The Senate rejected the amendment on a party-line vote.

The Contentious $1.8bn 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund

The funding bill does not block a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, which critics have derided as a slush fund for the president's allies, despite bipartisan anger. Democrats had sought to attach language blocking its implementation into the legislation.

The fund was part of a settlement that resolves Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns and has angered many of his GOP colleagues. The proposal remains an issue for some congressional Republicans, even though acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House committee last week that the proposal was dead. In an interview broadcast on Sunday, the president again refused to rule out its creation.

Arguments within the Republican caucus about the anti-weaponization settlement threatened to derail the funding bill. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost a primary race to retain his seat last month after opposing Trump policies, proposed an amendment that would have redirected payments from the settlement to law enforcement officers injured in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Along with all Democratic senators, five Republicans crossed the aisle early Friday morning with Cassidy to support the amendment: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. But because the amendment had to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold, it failed.

"This would have been done several hours ago if we weren't having to deal with some of the issues around the fund," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said shortly before midnight.

Thune himself has criticized the fund but has been pushing GOP senators for weeks to keep the bill focused on funding for ICE and the border patrol and avoid adding new provisions that could complicate its passage in the House.

Trump's Ballroom and the Parliamentarian's Ruling

The spending legislation was also delayed by uproar over an attempt to include $1 billion for security improvements related to the ballroom Trump is building at the White House. Senate Republicans eventually agreed to remove those funds after the chamber's parliamentarian ruled it could not be included if the measure was to pass using the budget reconciliation procedure to circumvent the Democratic filibuster.

January 6 Amendment Defeated

Shortly before the act's passage in the House, GOP lawmakers voted down an attempt by Democrats to insert language that would have blocked the government from issuing financial settlements to anyone convicted of assaulting a police officer during the January 6 insurrection.

As the bill was being considered by the Senate last week, a small group of Republicans also sought to find bipartisan compromise on an amendment that would bar the "anti-weaponization" fund, without success.

A Victory for Johnson and Trump

The bill's passage is a significant accomplishment for Speaker Johnson, who is managing a historically slim Republican majority with only a few votes to spare. It also represents a win for Trump, whose immigration crackdown has been a cornerstone of his administration's domestic agenda.

The bill now heads to the White House, where Trump is expected to sign it into law, marking one of the largest funding increases for immigration enforcement agencies in recent history.