Congressional Republicans Considering Reconciliation Bill Funding ICE and CBP

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy, and Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst   

Congressional Republicans are considering passing additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) through reconciliation, a special legislative procedure that allows bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes, instead of the 60 votes usually required.  

With control of the House, Senate, and White House, Republicans can use reconciliation to pass a bill without any support from Democrats; last year, Republicans used reconciliation to pass H.R.1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which extended tax cuts and provided an additional $325 billion in spending on immigration enforcement and defense. To pay for these provisions, the bill cut over $1 trillion in funding for vital safety net programs, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; see Memo, 7/7/25).  

The new reconciliation bill is expected to provide an additional $70 billion for ICE and CBP, circumventing Democrats’ attempt to block funding for the agencies unless guardrails are placed on federal immigration agents and enforcement activity. Democrats have been holding out on passing a final fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses ICE and CBP, without these guardrails in place. While the Senate passed on March 27 a spending bill funding DHS programs and agencies except for ICE and CBP, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated he will not bring the bill for a vote in the House until a reconciliation bill funding ICE and CBP is passed.  

The reconciliation bill is expected to be narrowly focused on funding ICE and CBP, but some Republicans are calling for a larger bill that would potentially include additional defense spending, provisions of the voter suppression bill, the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act,” as well as additional cuts to safety net programs to offset spending increases. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) has mentioned specifically the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income individuals and families in the workforce, and “low-income housing tax credits” as potential targets for cuts in another reconciliation bill (see Memo, 3/30).