House approves $70B immigration enforcement budget in tight vote
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a three-year budget plan on Wednesday that clears the way for Congress to take up an additional $70 billion for immigration enforcement by federal agencies.
The measure passed by a narrow 215-211 vote, with Democrats opposing it. House Speaker Mike Johnson kept the vote open for more than five hours as he worked to secure enough Republican support, with some lawmakers from farm states pressing for a separate vote on expanding the sale of ethanol-blended gasoline.
The Senate passed the budget plan on 23 April, meaning Republicans in both chambers can now begin drafting the details of the proposed funding package and seek approval before sending it to President Donald Trump.
Republican leaders aim to move the legislation in May using a special parliamentary process that allows passage in the Senate without Democratic backing.
Republicans used the same procedure last year to approve roughly $130 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, funding requested by Trump to support his large-scale migrant deportation push.
Democrats have criticised the approach and sought to curb enforcement operations, particularly after protests erupted following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Separately, funding pressures remain at the Department of Homeland Security, with several agencies set to run out of money by the end of the week unless Congress passes a temporary legislation to fund the federal government (Continuing resolution or Stopgap bill) for a limited period before the fiscal year ends on 30 September.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
