A bitterly divided House of Representatives has voted to unlock $70bn in frozen funding for America’s immigration and border agencies, ending a months-long stalemate fuelled by fatal shootings and heavy-handed enforcement tactics.
The funding package was passed on Wednesday by a razor-thin margin of 214 to 212, with every Republican present backing the measure and every Democrat voting against it. The bill had already cleared the Senate and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
The two agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have been operating without a formal budget since mid-February after lawmakers failed to agree on their funding in the wake of a series of violent controversies.
Tensions erupted in early January in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when ICE raids sparked angry street protests. During one encounter, an ICE agent shot dead a woman driver who refused to pull over and drove on despite officers blocking her path. In a separate incident, a Border Patrol officer shot and killed an armed man.
The deaths intensified scrutiny of the agencies’ use of force, ultimately paralysing budget negotiations on Capitol Hill. With Wednesday’s vote, the Republican-controlled Congress has signalled its determination to restore full financial backing to the Trump administration’s signature immigration enforcement apparatus, brushing aside fierce objections from Democrats.
