Senate Passes $70B Immigration Bill, Rejects Trump Fund Ban
The U.S. Senate passed a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill early Friday morning, voting 52-47 to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for three years through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. The legislation overcame weeks of delays and fierce bipartisan backlash over an unrelated $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies, after lawmakers rejected multiple amendments to permanently ban the fund, according to AP News.
Background: A Funding Crisis and a Controversial Fund
The vote marked the culmination of a months-long standoff that began after federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January 2026. Democrats blocked funding for ICE and Border Patrol, demanding policy changes including better identification for federal officers and greater use of judicial warrants. DHS funding lapsed in mid-February, and while Congress funded the rest of the Department of Homeland Security in late April, ICE and Border Patrol remained without regular appropriations.
Complicating matters was the so-called “anti-weaponization” settlement fund — $1.776 billion created as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The fund, intended to compensate Trump allies who claim political persecution by the federal government, drew sharp criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans who called it a “slush fund.” A federal judge imposed a block on the fund the previous week, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified that the Department of Justice would not move forward with it.
The Vote-a-Rama: A Marathon of Amendments
Republicans used budget reconciliation to bypass the Democratic filibuster, allowing passage with a simple majority. The final vote came just before 5 a.m. after a marathon “vote-a-rama” session lasting nearly a full day, as The Guardian reported.
The first major test came when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s motion to kill the settlement fund failed 50-49 after hours of delay. Three vulnerable Republicans up for reelection — Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska — voted with Democrats on that motion.
Senators then rejected a series of amendments targeting the fund. A proposal from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina to redirect the money to a DOJ anti-fraud fund failed 84-15. Another from Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost his primary last month after Trump endorsed a challenger, would have redirected payments to Capitol police officers injured during the January 6 attack. It also failed.
“If Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?” Tillis said on the Senate floor, warning that failing to act would expose Republican members to political liability ahead of the November midterm elections.
Party Divisions on Display
The vote exposed deep divisions within the Republican Party. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had pushed for weeks to keep the bill focused on immigration enforcement, but Trump injected new uncertainty on Wednesday when he told reporters the fund was “very important” and declined to say whether it was dead or on hold, as USA Today/Reuters reported.
“This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund,” Thune said shortly before midnight Thursday.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to vote against the final bill. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado missed the vote.
Analysis: What the Bill Means
The $70 billion package represents a major investment in immigration enforcement infrastructure, funding ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump’s term. However, critics note that the agencies already have a combined $100 billion in unspent funds from a larger DHS package enacted last year.
The bill does not restore funding for the independent immigration detention ombudsman, reducing oversight of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. It also gives the administration broad discretion over how the funds are allocated, with no new accountability mechanisms attached.
Schumer condemned the outcome, saying: “Republicans refused to permanently outlaw Trump’s $2 billion slush fund, leaving taxpayers to rely on nothing more than a promise from Donald Trump’s personal fixer. That is not accountability. That is a permission slip.”
What’s Next
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which is expected to take it up the week of June 8. With Republicans controlling the chamber, passage is widely anticipated. The settlement fund, meanwhile, remains legally alive despite DOJ assurances, and its fate could become a flashpoint in the November midterm elections as Democrats seek to tie vulnerable Republicans to a politically toxic issue.