Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters on March 3, 2026. Surrounding him from left to right are Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Tim Scott of South Carolina. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he plans to exploit the complicated reconciliation process to fund immigration enforcement for the next three years, although it was not immediately clear whether House Republicans were of exactly the same opinion.
The plan to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Protection only with Republican votes, combined with the Senate’s regular funding bill for that department, could end the two-month gridlock at the Department of Homeland Security already approved but has stalled in the House of Representatives.
Thune, R-S.D., said during an afternoon news conference that House GOP leaders could “add additional provisions to the reconciliation bill” but said he would like to keep it narrower.
“My hope would be that the House will be able to get this done here in the Senate,” he said.
Thune said the Senate could vote on a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions as early as next week. That’s the first step the complicated process. But the House must vote to pass this budget resolution before Republicans can pass the funding bill for ICE and the Border Patrol.
Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Homeland Security closed
The Department of Homeland Security has been closed since Feb. 14 after Democrats insisted on up-to-date immigration enforcement guardrails following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.
Because there was no bipartisan consensus on how to do this, Republicans have instead decided to exploit the same reconciliation process they used last year to pass their “big, beautiful” bill to authorize funding for Immigration, Customs Enforcement and Border Protection.
The House would then likely pass the DHS spending bill without these two items, which the Senate has already approved. This would provide funding for the other agencies within the department, including the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration.
Protective measures required
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said during a separate news conference that Democrats have repeatedly called for “common sense” protections that would require immigration officials to show identification, prohibit them from wearing masks and require warrants to enter someone’s home.
“The bottom line is that these are simple. This is common sense,” he said. “Every police department uses it, and if you ask the American people, they’re on our side. It’s the intransigence, particularly from the far right, who seem to like what ICE is doing.”
Schumer said Democrats would exploit the marathon vote on amendments to both the budget resolution and the eventual reconciliation bill to bring Republicans to the fire “on DHS, on war and on so many other issues.”
Thune said he was “trying to figure out exactly” what Democrats got from shutting down DHS, particularly given that immigration enforcement efforts were not affected because there was funding for them in last year’s reconciliation bill, exempting those programs from the funding shortfall.
“All the things that Democrats have talked about here, namely reforms to how ICE and CBP operate. They got nothing from it. Zero,” he said, referring to Customs and Border Protection, the larger agency that includes the Border Patrol. “And now we’re going to fund these agencies for three years.”
