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President Trump moved one step closer Tuesday to locking in immigration enforcement funding through the end of his presidency, and the establishment media barely noticed what just happened. Republicans’ $70 billion immigration enforcement and border security measure advanced along party lines during a test vote of 213-211, with every Democrat present voting “no” during the procedural vote. The Senate-passed measure now heads to a vote on final passage in the House, where it is expected to be approved as early as Tuesday evening.
For months, Americans have watched as Democrats dug in their heels, refusing to fund the very agencies tasked with protecting our borders and removing criminal illegal aliens from our communities. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar called it a “$70 billion blank check to ICE,” as if enforcing our nation’s laws somehow requires an apology. But here’s the reality that the left refuses to acknowledge: ICE and Customs and Border Protection have been operating without proper funding for months, and the American people are fed up with the chaos at our southern border.
Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise managed to hold the line despite some intra-party opposition. A handful of conservatives initially withheld their support during the test vote, wanting commitments to codify Trump’s executive orders targeting illegal immigration. Rep. Keith Self of Texas summed up their concern: “We need to codify what the president has done across the board. We’re going to fund the people who will try to keep the bad guys out, but we haven’t codified the actions to prevent them from coming back here in three years or so.” It’s a fair point, but the immediate priority is getting these agencies the resources they need right now.
The Senate approved this measure largely along party lines 52-47 last week, with only Senator Lisa Murkowski breaking ranks to vote with Democrats. That tells you everything you need to know about where the Republican Party stands on border security versus where the establishment GOP used to be. This is Trump’s party now, and the American people who elected him expect results.
What makes this victory particularly sweet is how it was achieved. Democrats’ obstruction helped spark the longest shutdown in American history, and in the end, they secured nothing. No sweeping reforms. No amnesty giveaways. Just a clean funding bill that gives ICE and CBP the resources they need to do their jobs through fiscal year 2029. Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to steer around Democratic opposition entirely, proving that when the party unites behind the president’s agenda, they can deliver for the American people.
Trump initially gave congressional Republicans a June 1 deadline to secure this funding, but some delays around his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” pushed the timeline back. Democrats labeled that fund a “slush fund,” because apparently protecting Americans from politically motivated prosecutions is controversial now. Some Republicans had concerns about how the funds could be used, but those issues appear to have been resolved.
The bottom line is this: after years of open borders, catch-and-release policies, and Democrat-enabled chaos, President Trump is on the verge of securing the funding necessary to finish the wall, deport criminal illegal aliens, and restore order to our immigration system. The left will scream. The media will cry foul. But the American people who voted for secure borders are about to get exactly what they demanded.
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