House approves $70 billion for Immigration Enforcement!
Washington, June 9 (EFE).-
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $70 billion Republican bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol, and other federal immigration agencies for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term, ending four months of uncertainty regarding resources for his immigration enforcement agenda.
The measure passed by a narrow margin of 214 votes to 212 and will now be sent to Trump’s office, having been previously approved by the Senate last week.
The bill allocates the majority of the funds to ICE and Border Patrol, breaking a budget impasse stemming from a long-standing dispute over the limits of these agencies following their involvement in the deaths of citizens Alex Pretti and Nicole Good during migrant enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
Democrats in Congress had refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and CBP, unless Republicans agreed to impose new restrictions on federal agents, restrictions that were never implemented.
According to data from the Congressional Research Service, ICE’s annual budget had remained below $10 billion in recent years, far below the funds approved Tuesday by the House of Representatives.
House Democratic Leader Katherine Clark told the House Rules Committee on Monday that Congress should not allocate more money to the agency, arguing that it was inconsistent to give them more funds when “60 percent of American families who are struggling to afford the basics.”
We Thank Governor Mikie Sherrill for Visiting Delaney Hall, Demanding Access Inside the Facility and Standing Alongside the Families of the Detained. Photo by Latina Civic Action.
With Trump’s expected signature, ICE and the Border Patrol will have guaranteed funding until the end of his term in 2029, in an effort to resume their agenda of mass detentions and deportations. EFE
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