Senate Bill to Fund ICE and CBP Contains Zero Reforms to ICE

On Friday morning, the Senate passed a $70 billion reconciliation package to provide additional funding for President Donald Trump’s brutal crackdown on immigrant communities across the country.

The funding, which Republicans have called the “Secure America Act,” is allocated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and particularly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The House is expected to take up the issue next week. If passed, it will fund the DHS agencies through the end of Trump’s term in 2029.

This funding package is in addition to the $170 billion allocated to ICE and CBP last year from Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — which turned ICE into the highest-funded law enforcement agency in the country.

Republicans packaged it as a reconciliation bill, which prevents filibustering and allows measures to pass with a simple majority. All Democrats voted against the bill.

The Senate stayed until 4:53 am voting on the funding package on Friday morning. But they were not debating whether or not to provide additional funding to ICE or CBP. The package to DHS received near-unanimous support from Republicans, with only one Republican lawmaker voting against it.

Instead, the long-drawn-out disagreements in the Republican-dominated House largely focused on Trump’s “slush fund,” his plan to compensate people he claims have been victimized by the government — including January 6 rioters — which was allowed to move forward without limitations.

The $70 billion package is primarily for expanding Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass deportation campaign.

The largest share, $38.5 billion, is allocated for ICE to expand its detention and removal efforts, hire more agents, upgrade its technology and facilities, and to increase cooperation with local law enforcement. The funding also covers the costs of deportation transportation, including deportation flights.

That the largest share of the bill is allocated to ICE reinforces Trump’s methods of attacking immigrant communities across the country, demonstrating that his strategy has not significantly changed since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration agents in Minnesota.

The bill’s emphasis on upgrades to technology also suggests greater reliance on surveillance technologies by DHS. Over the past year, ICE has increasingly relied on AI-assisted technology like Mobile Fortify — an application that uses AI for facial recognition and is known for its inaccuracy, particularly with women and people of color — and ELITE, an application developed by Palantir to scour neighborhoods for undocumented immigrants to arrest. ICE uses at least half a dozen other applications that enable it to surveil and build platforms of surveillance data against both undocumented people and activists who attempt to organize against the agency’s abuses.

The funding also allocates $26 billion for Customs and Border Patrol to hire more agents, buy new equipment, and increase their surveillance mechanisms.

On Thursday, ICE acting director David Venturella said that the agency is ending its requirement to report deaths that occur within 30 days of release from its custody. This is after 18 people died in ICE facilities so far this year, and at least 30 died last year.

The measures were condemned by human rights groups and progressive lawmakers.

“Last year, as American families struggled to pay for groceries, Republicans gave ICE and CBP $170 billion,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal wrote on X. “Today, the Senate voted to send them another $70 billion — without any meaningful reforms after they killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The House must reject this funding.”

Amnesty International called the Senate vote “shameful,” adding:

By voting for tens of billions in new funding for ICE and CBP despite ongoing reports of human rights violations and other abuses, Senators have rewarded agencies that have carried out militarized raids, unlawful arrests and detention, racial profiling, family separation, and other actions that have terrorized communities across the country. Now it’s in the hands of the House of Representatives.