Republicans are racing to pass a funding bill for ICE and Border Patrol, as divisions emerge within the party over legislative priorities and the reconciliation process.
President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to pass a reconciliation bill by June 1 to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, circumventing Democrats who have refused to support funding for immigration operations.
This party-line strategy aims to push legislation through Congress while bypassing the Senate filibuster, and it has become a repository for various Republican legislative priorities throughout the year. With Democrats unwilling to fund immigration operations, Republicans are preparing another budget reconciliation package. However, the challenge lies in unifying the GOP to create a bill that can successfully navigate the stringent rules governing the reconciliation process.
Last year, Republicans utilized the same process to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” This maneuver is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and it risks failure unless both the Senate and House can agree on the bill’s contents.
Trump has officially endorsed the use of reconciliation once again, aiming to bypass Democratic opposition to funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as Congress approaches a resolution to the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. “We are going to work as fast and as focused as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won’t be able to stop us,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
Despite this urgency, Republicans have viewed reconciliation as a means to address various issues, including fraud, affordability, Trump’s tariff authorities, additional tax provisions, healthcare, funding for military operations, supplemental agriculture spending, and election integrity measures since the passage of the previous reconciliation bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has cautioned that for reconciliation to be effective—especially given the limited timeframe for lawmakers to initiate and complete the process—Republicans must maintain realistic expectations. “Our theory of the case behind all this was to keep that thing as narrow and focused as possible, and that maximizes the speed at which we can do it and the support for it,” Thune explained. He acknowledged that while there may be attempts to include additional issues, the reconciliation vehicle must remain focused to ensure swift passage.
Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., indicated that he is considering two new reconciliation packages, which could alleviate concerns about cramming all Republican priorities into a single, extensive bill. “We want to do it quick—ICE, Border Patrol—fund it as much as you can, multi-year,” Graham said. “Then there’s another one coming. I just made news. There’s another one coming in the fall, and that’s going to be about going after fraud.”
During their recent policy retreat, House Republicans discussed a so-called “reconciliation 2.0,” aiming to include several provisions that could complicate the process and struggle to gain support in the Senate, where strict guidelines could jeopardize proposals that do not comply with reconciliation rules.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), which has long advocated for a second reconciliation bill, is also pushing to include proposals addressing affordability concerns. “We support pursuing funding for military readiness and Homeland Security through this legislative process, while simultaneously codifying the president’s agenda to deliver lower costs for working families,” the RSC Steering Committee stated.
Some Republicans are advocating for the inclusion of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which focuses on voter ID and citizenship verification. However, this legislation faces significant hurdles in the Senate due to unified Democratic opposition and is unlikely to meet the reconciliation rules, which permit only provisions that directly affect spending.
Senator Roger Marshall, R-Kan., emphasized the need for a more focused approach to the reconciliation bill. “I think we have to set our sights a little bit lower on this reconciliation bill,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s got to be targeted to fund ICE for 10 years—I think that’s the number one thing for us. If we can nibble at the edges of the SAVE Act, that would be great, but the parliamentarian is not going to let us do the SAVE Act. That’s just an impossibility.”
Some of the most vocal supporters of the bill within the House GOP recognize the challenges of incorporating the SAVE Act into the reconciliation package. They prefer to keep the bill intact to facilitate its passage through the Senate. “Look, it’s time for them to do a walk-and-talk and filibuster, and let’s make this thing happen,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “The American people are watching—piecing it together just to try to get a piece.”
As Republicans navigate these complexities, the outcome of the reconciliation process remains uncertain, with divisions within the party potentially complicating efforts to secure funding for ICE and Border Patrol.
According to Fox News, the stakes are high as the GOP seeks to align its priorities and move forward with critical funding measures.