Senate Debates DOJ Fund, Okays $70B Immigration Bill

Early on Friday morning (June 5), the Senate passed legislation that will provide $70 billion in funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

The vote was 52-47, with Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska being the lone Republican to join the Democrats in opposing it, save for Michael Bennett of Colorado, who missed the vote. The bill is expected to go before the House of Representatives, who are expected to pass it. Funding is to last through 2028.

The bill had been held up by Democrats who fought to have more restrictions placed on ICE and Border Patrol agents, especially after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier this year. They blocked the funding for months, even with the government entering a partial shutdown.

On the surface, it seems like a victory for Trump, but the battle to get the funding bill passed exposed some fractures within the current body of congressional Republicans. The conflict was centered on the proposed $1,776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund from the Department of Justice. 

The fund was seen as money promised to allies of Trump who were involved in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and some Republicans were opposed, including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who had introduced an amendment to the immigration bill dictating that the money go to law enforcement officials affected by the attack on the Capitol. That was shot down before the final vote.

“This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has labeled the fund a liability for the GOP in a year where midterm elections are key, despite acting Attorney General Todd Blanche saying the fund was largely inoperative.

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Photo: Getty

Senate Debates DOJ Fund, Okays $70B Immigration Bill was originally published on hiphopwired.com