WASHINGTON — After weeks of setbacks and delays, the Republican-controlled House on Tuesday narrowly passed a roughly $70 billion package to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the end of President Donald Trump’s term.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The vote was 214-212.The package, dubbed the Secure America Act, cleared the Senate last week and now heads to the president’s desk for his expected signature.The successful House vote ends months of drama and partisan bickering over immigration enforcement funding.
In February, Senate Democrats voted to shut down the Department of Homeland Security after the fatal shootings of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during immigration operations in Minneapolis the previous month.FORSUBSCRIBERS00:0000:00Why an ICE detention center in New Jersey has sparked protests02:55Some 75 days later, Congress passed a bill to end the DHS shutdown — the longest in U.S.history — and fund much of the sprawling federal agency, including the Coast Guard, FEMA, TSA and the Secret Service.
But funding for ICE and Border Patrol was stripped out after Republicans rejected Democratic demands for immigration enforcement reforms, including requiring agents to wear mandatory body cameras and judicial warrants before entering homes.Because of that impasse, Trump resorted to using other pots of money to temporarily pay those agents and officers.The only way Trump and his congressional allies could fund ICE and Border Patrol was to use the reconciliation process, a fast-track budget procedure that allows Republicans to pass legislation with just 51 votes, bypassing Democrats and the usual 60-vote threshold in the Senate.Trump threw a last-minute wrench into the process last month by demanding that a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund be inserted into the package.But Republicans in both the House and Senate revolted against the idea of possible taxp...