WASHINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced a 69.5-billion-dollar funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, days after missing President Donald Trump's self-set June 1 deadline.
The lower chamber approved the procedural measure by a vote of 213-211, after the U.S. Senate passed the bill on Friday.
Democrats have pushed for reforms to ICE operations following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, but Republicans have repeatedly rejected their demands, resulting in a deadlock in negotiations over funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which led to a record 76-day shutdown of the department.
On April 30, Trump signed a bill to fund most of the DHS, including the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. That bill, however, did not include funding for the department's immigration enforcement agencies.
At the time, Trump endorsed a two-track strategy favored by Senate Majority Leader John Thune -- funding most of DHS through a bipartisan deal with Democrats, followed by using the reconciliation process to secure funding for ICE and Border Patrol, and set a deadline of June 1 for Republicans. The reconciliation process would allow Republicans to bypass a Democratic filibuster.
The delays in Congress largely stemmed from GOP division over a so-called "anti-weaponization" fund announced by the Department of Justice to compensate individuals who claim they were unfairly prosecuted by the previous administration.
On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lashed out at the reconciliation bill in a post on X, writing: "Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life better for everyday Americans. Republicans want to give ICE a $70 billion blank check to unleash continued brutality on the community. House Democrats are a Hard NO."
Republicans currently hold 217 seats in the House, compared with 212 for Democrats, meaning House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose no more than two Republican defections on final passage of the bill, assuming full attendance and unified Democratic opposition.
