Tipsheet

'Secure America Act' Heads to President Trump's Desk, Funding ICE and CBP

The House of Representatives passed the “Secure America Act” on Tuesday – a reconciliation bill that will fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through early 2029. The $70 billion proposal now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for final approval. 

The vote was 214-212 along party lines, and the legislation passed the Senate last week, with Democrats and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voting against it. Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) voted against the legislation, along with all Democrats. 

Speaker Mike Johnson took a victory lap after the bill's passage:

“With today’s vote, House and Senate Republicans have officially ended the third Democrat government shutdown of this Congress," Johnson said in a statement. "And here’s the end result of Democrats’ record-setting obstruction: CBP and ICE will now be funded for the remainder of President Trump’s term and Democrats will have no ability to defund these agencies in the 119th or 120th Congresses. All that Democrats have achieved by their shutdown is a useful reminder to the American people of their support for open borders and keeping criminal illegal immigrants in American communities — policies that have been soundly rejected by the American people over and over again. We hope this episode serves as a future reminder to Democrats that when they shut the government down, they will receive less than nothing in return.”

The reconciliation process was a way to work around the Democrats' long list of requests for immigration enforcement, including an end to masking and to judicial warrant requirements. 

The act garnered significant support from Republicans at the state level, including from the Republican Governors Association and the Republican Attorneys General Association.

“Governors will only be as successful as their federal partners, and Congressional Democrats are failing to fulfill the basic federal responsibility of funding key portions of our federal law enforcement system,” the governors wrote in a recent letter.

The Republican attorneys general pointed out in a letter to Republican congressional leadership that multiple states have agreements to work alongside ICE, but said that “Senate Democrats have spent months blocking funding for these vital agencies.”

The backlash from Democrats on the Trump administration’s handling of immigration led to a Department of Homeland Security shutdown that went from February until the end of April. 

“The cost of living is out of control. What are Republicans focused on this week?” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) posted on X on Tuesday morning before the vote. 

“Cutting your Social Security and giving a $70 billion blank check to ICE. House Democrats are a HELL NO,” Jeffries added.

Many of Trump’s immigration policies were already funded through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” so the shutdown largely hit agencies like FEMA and some elements of ICE and CBP.

Speaker Mike Johnson has floated a third reconciliation bill, following the “Secure America Act” and the OBBA. However, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said at a Tuesday hearing that it was unlikely that there would be a third one.

"I think it's safe to conclude there will not be another reconciliation bill. So, it's really not an option,” McConnell said during the hearing with Air Force leadership, in which Collins replied, "I agree with that assessment." The Maine Republican chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.