Senate passes $70 billion immigration enforcement bill

The Senate voted early Friday to approve $70 billion for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies, advancing a bill that had been delayed for weeks by bipartisan objections to a separate $1.776 billion settlement fund critics said could benefit Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants.

The legislation passed 52-47 shortly before 5 a.m. after an 18-hour amendment marathon. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to oppose the final package, joining all Democrats who voted no. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., missed the vote.

The bill would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol for the next three years, through the end of Trump’s term. It includes $38.6 billion for ICE, $22.6 billion for the Border Patrol, $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $108.5 million for child exploitation investigations.

It now heads to the House. The chamber announced Thursday that it would not hold votes Friday, meaning action on the measure will wait until next week.

The debate was dominated by the settlement fund, described by Democrats and some Republicans as a potential “slush fund” to pay Jan. 6 rioters and other Trump allies who say they were politically persecuted. NPR reported that the fund was part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The bill passed without restrictions on the fund.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress on Tuesday that the administration is “not moving forward with the fund.” But Trump later cast doubt on whether the fund was dead or on hold, telling reporters the settlement is “very important.” Asked about its status, he said, “I don’t know” and added, “I’d have to ask the lawyers.”

Republicans defeated multiple efforts from both parties to block or limit the fund. One amendment would have barred payments to Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers. Eight Republicans supported it, but it failed to reach the 60 votes needed.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., proposed redirecting payments from the settlement to law enforcement officers injured in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. That amendment was also defeated. Cassidy said that despite Blanche’s comments, the fund remains part of an active settlement and “absolutely can be used.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., offered another amendment to ban the settlement fund and move the money to a separate anti-fraud fund at the Justice Department. More than 10 Republicans backed it, but most Democrats opposed it, ensuring defeat.

“If Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?” Tillis said. “Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day, and that makes no sense for something that the DOJ says they’re not moving forward with.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pushed Republicans to keep the bill focused on immigration enforcement and avoid changes that could complicate House passage. “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.

Democrats said they would continue pressing for limits on both the settlement fund and immigration agencies. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans were “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.”

Democrats have demanded restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and greater use of judicial warrants, after federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The parties have not reached an agreement on those reforms.