Trump locks in ICE funding through end of presidency after House passes $70B package

By Fox News · Fox News

Republicans’ sweeping immigration enforcement and border security package cleared the House on Tuesday, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats over funding President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown agenda. The $70 billion immigration enforcement measure passed 214-212 over the fierce objections of Democrats, who unanimously voted against the package. Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., an independent who caucuses with Republicans, also joined Democrats in opposing the measure. Meanwhile, every GOP lawmaker present voted for the Senate-passed legislation, which funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through fiscal year 2029. Tuesday's vote is a major victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who could spare just a handful of defections given Republicans’ fragile majority. TRUMP ON VERGE OF SECURING $70B ICE FUNDING VICTORY AFTER HOUSE CLEARS HURDLE The measure now heads to Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. The GOP-authored bill, known as the Secure America Act, provides $38 billion for ICE and a $26 billion infusion for the Border Patrol. It would also create a $5 billion funding pool to be controlled by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Kiley, who recently switched his party affiliation to independent, said he opposed the bill because it lacked reforms to immigration enforcement and bypassed the traditional appropriations process, which requires some buy-in from Democrats. "The idea that we're actually going to now weaken one of the few pillars of sanity we have, which is the annual bipartisan appropriations process, and set this precedent that when you don't reach bipartisan agreement, you can just do an end run around it … that's hugely problematic to me," the California lawmaker told reporters. "The whole reason I became an independent is because I think that extreme partisanship here has completely run amok, and it's doing real damage to the country," he added. Republican…