Senate Republicans unveil immigration funding plan with $140 billion price tag as divisions simmer

By Fox News · Fox News

Senate Republicans revealed their plan to fund immigration enforcement operations with a whopping 12-figure price tag, but not every member of the GOP is happy with the roadmap. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Tuesday revealed the GOP’s budget resolution, which will act as the guiding document for Republicans as they launch the budget process. It’s as Republican leadership wanted — narrowly tailored to fund only Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three years. And it comes with the eye-popping price tag of $140 billion over the next three and a half years. SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE "The threats to our homeland from radical Islam are only getting more intense," Graham said in a statement. "Now is not the time to defund Border Patrol, and now is certainly not the time to put ICE out of business. These men and women have been dealing with the consequences of the over 11 million illegal immigrants that came to the United States during the Biden Administration." The upper chamber is expected to vote on the budget blueprint this week, possibly even Tuesday afternoon, if lawmakers can shore up any possible defections and disagreements. Republicans will get the chance to discuss the bill behind closed doors later in the day, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects any lingering issues with the framework to be addressed. "But as I've said from the very beginning, the exercise here is to make sure we have something that gets 50 here and 218 in the House that is narrow and focused on ensuring that the ICE and CBP are funded well into the future," Thune said. The legislation instructs the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security panels that they are allowed to add to the federal deficit by up to $70 billion each over the next handful of years to fund immigration operations. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a member of the budget committee and de…