The Senate passed a $69.5 billion immigration enforcement package Friday in a 52-47 vote, ending weeks of internal Republican drama over a controversial anti-weaponization fund that nearly derailed the entire bill.
The reconciliation package allocates over $30.73 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $22.57 billion to Customs and Border Protection, and $2.5 billion in Department of Homeland Security appropriations through 2029.
The passage came after President Donald Trump’s June 1 deadline had already slipped, with the administration’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund throwing the process into chaos.
Senate Republicans drafted the legislation in response to the 76-day shutdown of DHS after Democrats refused to fund the agency following high-profile shootings involving immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. The reconciliation process only requires a simple majority of 51 votes to pass.
Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only GOP senator to vote against the package.
Several Senate Republicans — including Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Katie Britt of Alabama — feared the Department of Justice fund would compensate Jan. 6 Capitol rioters convicted of assaulting police officers. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was not a fan of the fund, adding that certain guardrails should have been affixed to it.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified Tuesday that the administration was not moving forward with the fund. The chamber held a vote-a-rama, where Democrats introduced an amendment attempting to send the funding package back to the Senate Judiciary Committee and add instructions to ensure the fund would never be revived.
The amendment failed in a 49 to 50 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska joining Democrats in favor. All three senators are up for reelection in the 2026 midterm elections.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis put forward an amendment to redirect money from the DOJ fund to fraud enforcement, which failed in a 15 to 84 vote. Tillis decided not to run for reelection in June 2025 after Trump threatened to primary him over his opposition to the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has broken with his party in a number of votes, told the Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday he planned to vote against the funding package. “I’m going to vote with my party,” Fetterman said.
The package also faced hurdles because of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who ruled that four sections violated the Byrd Rule, which dictates that provisions in a reconciliation bill must have a direct, non-incidental impact on the federal budget. The impacted provisions involved funding for CBP, DHS appropriations, and additional funds to screen unaccompanied migrant children.
MacDonough also ruled that $1 billion in funding for security enhancements tied to White House ballroom construction violated the Byrd Rule, causing Senate Republicans to eliminate that funding from the revised version. The ruling prompted Trump to pressure Thune and Senate Republicans to replace MacDonough.
The bill now heads to the House for consideration.
