Bill to fund ICE, border patrol goes to Trump’s desk

The House sent legislation to President Donald Trump's desk Tuesday that could fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the end of Trump's current term. If signed into law, the legislation would give $38.6 billion to ICE, $22.6 billion to the Border Patrol, and an additional $5 billion in discretionary spending to the Department of Homeland Security.

The legislation passed the House on a 214-212 vote along party lines. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California independent who caucuses with Republicans, joined Democrats in voting against the measure. Kiley told CNN that he disagreed with the bill’s lack of guardrails for ICE. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that the bill has removed Democrats’ ability to block ICE funding any further. The Senate approved the legislation on Friday. The bill’s final passage follows weeks of delays.

What else did the bill include? House representatives passed $108.5 million in funding to combat child sexual trafficking and exploitation. The provision would allow the DHS to hire 200 new child exploitation investigators and analysts, said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who spearheaded the bill. The funding represented hope for the more than 89,000 children depicted in child sexual abuse material who have remained unidentified, said Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla. She introduced a similar version of the provision in January. Former American football quarterback Tim Tebow, who advocated for the funds, said he was grateful that Congress passed this lifesaving legislation.

The bill dropped the White House’s $1 billion request for the U.S. Secret Service, including funding for Trump’s East Wing ballroom security.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the bill’s marathon passage through the Senate following a vote-a-rama.