The entire department has been shut down since mid-February as Democrats have demanded policy changes that would weaken the ability of ICE agents to do their jobs. Republicans are now trying to fund the two immigration enforcement agencies through the complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Trump's 'big beautiful bill."
“We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America's borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian and a long, open-ended series of amendment votes at the beginning and the end of the process.
The Senate held the first series of votes through the night, starting Wednesday evening and into early Thursday morning.
The Senate adopted the final resolution 50-48, just past 3:30 a.m.
