Senate unanimously advances DHS funding deal without ICE and CBP amid shutdown

Congress moved a step closer to ending the Homeland Security shutdown after the Senate offered a new last-minute deal, but it came at the expense of Republicans temporarily leaving room for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-Y.

The Senate unanimously advanced a deal to reopen much of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) early Friday morning, 42 days after a shutdown triggered by the Trump administration’s immigration operations in Minnesota.

It was a deal that largely gave Schumer and Senate Democrats what they wanted; There was no funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But it lacked the tough reforms they desired, such as requiring judicial warrants or unmasking agents.

SCHUMER, DEMS BLOCKED DHS FUNDING AGAIN, TRUMP INTERVENED WITH PAYMENTS OF TSA REPRESENTATIVES

While the agreement mirrors previous attempts by Democrats to pass similar legislation governing immigration financing, Thune argued that Democrats are still walking empty-handed in the policy fight over immigration enforcement.

“We’ve been trying to fund everything for weeks,” Thune said. “And I mean, ultimately that’s what they were willing to accept. But again, it’s different to have zero reform in it. I mean, they haven’t reformed DHS at all, which they could have done if they were willing to work with us a little bit on that.”

DHS funding deal now goes to the House of Representatives; Here, Republicans are less than enthusiastic about not funding key components of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.

The latest plan comes after Senate Democrats blocked a seventh attempt to reopen DHS; Back-and-forth talks throughout the day on Thursday appeared to produce little progress toward a solution. Trump also announced his intention to sign an order that would pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers as major airports are hit with staggering lines and eye-popping wait times amid the shutdown.

DEMS BLOCKS DHS FUNDS AFTER REJECTING GOP COUNTER, THUNE SAYS SCHUMER ‘GOES IN CIRCLES’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DY, and Democrats rejected Republicans’ latest deal to reopen DHS and promised a counteroffer with reforms in return. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While it was partly another concession to Democrats, the central argument Republicans made from the beginning was that if Schumer and his group wanted reform, they had to agree to fund immigration enforcement.

And ICE and CBP are still flush with about $75 billion in cash from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” giving the agencies a buffer for a while.

“The good news is that we predicted this a year ago. I mean, one of the reasons why we front-loaded the ‘big, beautiful bill’ with enhanced funding for Homeland Security was because we predicted this would happen, and it did,” Thune said. “I still think it’s unfortunate. Democrats wanted reforms. We tried to work with them on reforms. In the end, they didn’t get any reforms.”

The same process used to pass this massive legislative package will likely be used to refinance immigration enforcement.

DHS AGREEMENT IS IN LIBGATORY WHILE DEMOCRATS DEMAND TIGHTING THE ICE DESPITE GOP’S CONSENT

Badge and gear of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., envisions funding ICE and CBP for several years.

Schmitt said on “In response, I will push for ten years of funding for deportation operations and salaries.”

That may still be difficult to do, given that Republicans want to throw some other priorities into the mix, including parts of the Saving America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and financing the Iran war.

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And some Republicans are already voicing their expectations about what can and can’t be done through the party-line process, given that everything in the bill must pass the Senate with strict rules.

“I think we need to keep our eyes a little lower on this compromise bill,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. “The goal should be to fund ICE for 10 years, I think that’s the number one thing for us.”