Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that Republicans will try to pass the money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection \u201c the hard way<\/a>.\u201d That means bypassing Democrats, who say a funding bill should place restraints on federal immigration authorities, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants.<\/p>\n Democrats will now get \u201cnone of that,\u201d Thune said, after bipartisan negotiations stalled. Republicans are instead preparing a partisan bill that they will try to pass under a complicated, time-consuming maneuver called budget reconciliation that only requires a simple majority vote in the 53-47 Senate.<\/p>\n The process could be messy. Thune, R-S.D., is pushing for a narrow bill that would only include money for ICE and CBP in an effort to reopen the department quickly. But some of his Republican colleagues are likely to push to add other unrelated priorities.<\/p>\n Democrats say they will continue to insist on reforms to the agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans want ICE and Border Patrol reined in,\u201d Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.<\/p>\n Thune hopes for a \u2018narrow\u2019 bill<\/p>\n Thune and GOP leaders have said they want to speed the legislation through Congress with only the Homeland Security funding so that the department can reopen as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., discussed that strategy with Trump at a White House meeting Friday. Barrasso posted afterward that \u201cPresident Trump set a deadline of June 1 to get to his desk a focused reconciliation bill that funds ICE and Border Patrol.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump appeared to be on board, posting on his social media site that \u201cwe are moving FAST and FOCUSED in keeping our Border SECURE!\u201d<\/p>\n But it won\u2019t be easy to keep senators \u2014 or the House \u2014 from trying to add other items to the bill.<\/p>\n Trump has been pushing his strict proof-of-citizenship bill, the SAVE Act, and the White House could soon request billions of dollars for the Iran war. Farm-state senators have been hoping to move a wide-ranging farm bill to boost the agricultural economy. And some Republicans say they should cut other programs to pay for the legislation, which could cost around $75 billion.<\/p>\n Republican leaders say they would do a second partisan budget reconciliation bill to deal with some of those issues. But many in the conference are skeptical that could happen this year, especially with thin GOP margins in both chambers and an election approaching.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at the narrow vision,\u201d said GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota after Republicans held a lunch meeting about the bill Tuesday. \u201cNow, do people have other ideas? Of course.\u201d<\/p>\n Lengthy DHS shutdown has no clear end<\/p>\n The Homeland Security Department has been shut down since mid-February.<\/p>\n After federal agents shot two protesters in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request<\/a> that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law as the two sides negotiated. But the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to his administration\u2019s immigration enforcement tactics.<\/p>\n In March, the Senate passed legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Customs and Border Protection and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to vote for it<\/a>, saying they wouldn\u2019t support any bill that didn\u2019t include money for immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n![\"Senate](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777393764_455_Senate_Democrats_13273.jpg\")
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds papers following a closed-door strategy session, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/p>\n