Trump's Deportation Funding
Congress readies $70 billion infusion for Trump's deportation agenda
The U.S. Senate passed a $70 billion funding package for the Department of Homeland Security in a late-night vote on June 5, giving President Trump a massive cash infusion to run his deportation operations through 2029. The bill passed 52-47, with Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only GOP defector, according to AP News.
The money breaks down into $38.5 billion for ICE and $22.6 billion for Border Patrol. The White House says its enforcement operations have already produced 605,000 deportations and 1.9 million so-called "self-deportations" since January 2025 — a total of more than 2.5 million people removed or displaced.
A Midnight Vote With No Spending Guardrails
Senate Majority Leader John Thune used a process called budget reconciliation to push the bill through. Reconciliation blocks the minority from using a filibuster to stop a vote. The bill is just 12 pages long and contains no oversight rules telling DHS exactly how to spend the money, according to AP News.
Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress warned that the approach is unusual. "All this important oversight doesn't happen" when reconciliation is used this broadly for agency funding, he said, as reported by Vail Daily. Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, spent most of June 4 introducing dozens of amendments to add restrictions. All were defeated.
Summer Sweeps in Major Cities Coming Next
Border Czar Tom Homan signaled what comes next within hours of the vote. "We're going to continue to arrest people, we're going to continue to detain people and we're going to keep deporting people," he said, according to CBS News. He hinted at "summer sweeps" starting in New York City and targeting other sanctuary jurisdictions.
The bill now heads to the House, where a vote is expected early next week, WLRN reported. If it passes, it gives the administration a guaranteed funding runway through the end of 2029 — removing the annual budget battles that have historically slowed enforcement operations.
Critics Call It an ATM for ICE With No Accountability
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the legislation a "rotten bill" and an "ATM for ICE," according to PBS News. The ACLU's Kate Voigt was more direct: "A vote in favor of more ICE and Border Patrol funding is a vote to prioritize President Trump's cruel mass deportation agenda."
Critics also pointed to a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund tucked into the bill. Opponents say it could be used to compensate January 6 rioters, according to NPR Illinois. They also note that an estimated $100 billion to $150 billion from a prior $170 billion immigration package passed in July 2025 remains unspent — raising questions about why new funds are needed now.
A Public Already Feeling the Impact
The vote comes as immigration enforcement has already touched millions of American lives. An AP-NORC poll from April 2026 found that 1 in 3 U.S. adults knows someone personally affected by the administration's immigration operations. Six in 10 Americans now say the U.S. is no longer a great place for immigrants.
Republicans are betting that aggressive enforcement will motivate voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats are hoping public anxiety works in their favor. President Trump framed the funding simply as "promises made, promises kept," describing the operations as the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, according to AP News.
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