According to the Associated Press and other media reports, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill worth about 70 billion U.S. dollars on the 9th local time to provide funds for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the border patrol, until the end of President Donald Trump’s term.
The vote was 214 in favor and 212 against, the report said. All Democrats voted no. Representative Kevin Keeley, a former Republican turned independent, joined Democrats in voting No.
The report said the bill will be submitted to Trump for signature, which will push the administration to continue its deportation agenda for the remainder of its term. The White House said the bill would provide $38 billion for immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for border patrol and $5 billion for unforeseen costs.
File Photo: federal agents conduct an immigration enforcement raid in Minneapolis in January. Source: media
The bill passed the Senate last week using a so-called“Budget reconciliation process” that allowed it to bypass opposition from Senate Democrats, Reuters said. The vote was also almost entirely partisan, with only one Republican senator voting no.
According to U. S. Media, the passage of the bill marks the U. S. Congress for months of struggle over immigration law enforcement funding ended. After the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by immigration enforcement agents in January, Democrats have expressed strong opposition to funding immigration enforcement unless there are significant changes to its operating procedures, but Republicans have refused to do so. This led to a record shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. More than two months later, Congress approved a appropriations plan to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, except for immigration enforcement.