Senate GOP unveils budget resolution, kickstarting process to fund ICE

Politics Senate Republicans unveil budget resolution, kickstarting reconciliation process to fund ICE By Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard April 21, 2026 / 11:38 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — Senate Republicans unveiled a budget resolution on Tuesday to begin the process of funding immigration agencies under the Department of Homeland Security without help from Democrats.Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who leads the Senate Budget Committee, released the 58-page budget resolution, saying in a statement that Republicans are "moving forward — not backward — on rational immigration policies that secure our border.""Republicans are doing something that must be done quickly, and that our Democrat colleagues are trying to prevent us from doing. That something is simple: fully fund Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great threat to the United States," Graham said.The resolution authorizes the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees to draft legislation to increase spending by up to $70 billion each, which would be used to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection. The final bill's price tag is expected to be around $70 billion total, an aide to Senate Majority Leader John Thune said shortly after the resolution was released.The measure is a key step toward approving the funding through the budget reconciliation process, which allows Senate Republicans to advance legislation with direct budgetary consequences without Democratic votes. Republicans are aiming to fund the agencies for 3.5 years, guaranteeing funds for immigration enforcement through the remainder of the Trump presidency. For months, Democrats have opposed funding ICE and CBP, seeking reforms following two deadly shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis in January. But after t...