Senate GOP Launch Budget Reconciliation To Fund DHS Amid Shutdown

Senate GOP Launch Budget Reconciliation To Fund DHS Amid Shutdown

“With this budget resolution, we are moving forward — not backward — on rational immigration policies that secure our border,”

Joseph Quesada
Joseph Quesada
April 21, 2026

Senate Republicans released a budget resolution aimed at fully funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the end of President Donald Trump’s term amid the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown.

The Senate Budget Committee released an estimated $70 billion resolution to fund both immigration agencies for three years. The measure directs the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Judiciary committees to draft final immigration enforcement bills, according to CNBC.

The budget reconciliation resolution proposed by Senate Republicans requires a simple majority in the Senate, circumventing filibuster rules that require 60 votes on most bills.

Senate Republicans currently hold 53 seats.

“Republicans are doing something that must be done quickly, and that our Democrat colleagues are trying to prevent us from doing. That something is simple: fully fund Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great threat to the United States,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement. “With this budget resolution, we are moving forward — not backward — on rational immigration policies that secure our border.”

“Instead of doing literally anything to lower costs, Republicans are spending their time working hard to cut another massive blank check for ICE and Border Patrol — without any reforms, or even basic guardrails,” Senate Appropriations Committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), fired back in a statement.

Congressional Efforts to Fund DHS

Since mid-February, Democrats have blocked funding for both ICE and CBP, demanding immigration reforms in response to the deaths of Minneapolis activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

In late March, the Senate unanimously passed a funding package that would fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP, with efforts to use the budget reconciliation resolution to fund the two divisions.

The House rejected the bill in early April.

The budget reconciliation measure was also used in Jul. 2025 to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

According to CNBC, President Trump has set a June 1, 2026, deadline for the passage of a final bill to fund both immigration divisions.

Joseph Quesada

Joseph Quesada

Joseph Quesada is an award-winning video editor and Miami-based reporter covering national and international politics. He is a junior Political Science major at Florida International University with a minor in Visual Production. With nearly a decade of experience in digital video production, he enjoys creating video content and weightlifting in his free time.

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