Oppose the ICE and CBP Budget Reconciliation Funding Bill (UPDATED 5/5)

Updates

May 5, 2026: The Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees have released the proposed text of the Republican budget reconciliation bill. It provides $38.2 billion for ICE, $26 billion for CBP, and $1 billion for “security” related features of Trump’s ballroom. The committees may do markups on the text to make changes during the week of May 11th before it goes to the full Senate for a vote.

April 29, 2026: The House has passed the Senate’s budget reconciliation blueprint by a party line vote of 215-211. Republicans will now move forward and write their full budget reconciliation bill to fund ICE and CBP with an additional $70 billion through 2028. The Senate may put the bill on the floor for a vote as early as the week of May 18th.

April 23, 2026: The Senate has passed the initial budget resolution by a 50-48 vote. Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Paul (R-KY) voted No with Democrats. This now moves to the House.

April 20, 2026: House and Senate Republicans are moving forward with their plan to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the partisan, 50-vote threshold budget reconciliation procedure and block all efforts by Democrats to reform the agencies. The Senate is expected to vote on the initial budget blueprint resolution this week.

Despite bipartisan support for a Senate-passed bill that would have restored funding for all Department of Homeland Security departments except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and much of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Republicans have failed to end the longest partial government shutdown in history. They are now attempting to use budget reconciliation, a process that allows the passage of bills with a simple majority if they have a significant budgetary impact, to secure more funding for ICE and CBP as well as the illegal war in Iran.

Because the budget reconciliation process requires new expenditures be offset by equivalent budget cuts, this will inevitably lead to additional cuts to essential social safety net programs like Affordable Care Act financial assistance. Some hardliners are also aiming to use this next reconciliation bill to force through voter suppression legislation, although this attempt is unlikely to succeed due to parliamentarian rules.

As midterms approach, constituents must condemn further cuts to essential services, including healthcare programs, to finance Trump’s racist, imperialist agenda at home and abroad. Instead of playing political games to appease the wishes of a dictator, Congress must focus on reining in the harms caused by Republican policies, from skyrocketing healthcare and fuel costs to horrific human rights abuses perpetrated by ICE & CBP.