Senate Republicans released their long-anticipated immigration enforcement reconciliation package Monday night, unveiling $72 billion in proposed spending split across two Senate committees that would mark one of the largest federal investments in border security on record.
The package dropped late in the evening. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) put forward nearly $31 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $3.5 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $2.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, and just under $1.5 billion for the Department of Justice.
“Republicans won’t allow our country to be dragged backwards by Democrats’ radical, anti-law enforcement agenda,” Grassley said in a statement.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), added a second tranche: nearly $33 billion more, including over $19 billion for CBP, $7.5 billion for ICE, close to $3.5 billion for border security operations, and $2.5 billion for DHS.
“Senate Democrats refuse to vote for a single dollar to secure our borders or enforce our immigration laws, even against the most violent illegal aliens,” Paul said. “To make sure those vital functions are funded, my committee will vote later this month to provide the funding needed.”
Combined, the two committees propose roughly $64 billion for ICE, CBP, and DHS enforcement functions across the border and the interior. That figure does not include the Justice Department allocation or administrative support spending.
One line item drew immediate attention. The Grassley portion includes $1 billion directed to the Secret Service for security upgrades tied to the White House East Wing modernization project, the construction commonly known as Trump’s ballroom addition. The legislation limits use of the funds to “security adjustments and upgrades, including above-ground and below-ground security features,” and bars spending on “non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project.”
The White House had previously billed the ballroom project as entirely privately funded. That position changed following a third apparent assassination attempt against President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton in late April. Republicans moved to authorize federal security spending tied to the construction shortly after.
Democrats hit the ballroom item the moment the bill text dropped. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted on X: “Republicans are on a different planet than American families. Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom.”
The funding inclusion created tension inside the Republican caucus as well. Several House members had reportedly pushed to use the reconciliation vehicle for affordability measures, farm assistance, or net spending cuts. A line item for White House construction security handed Democrats a straightforward attack line and complicated the House’s expected pushback on the Senate’s approach.
Senate committees are expected to vote on their respective portions later this month. After passage, the legislation heads to conference with the House, where individual spending figures are likely to be negotiated before a final version reaches the president’s desk.
Democrats have withheld support from every Republican-backed immigration enforcement funding measure in the current Congress, leaving reconciliation as the primary legislative vehicle for moving additional resources to the border. Senate Republicans have framed the current package as a direct response to what they describe as a backlog in ICE operational capacity and detention resources.
