House Republicans are refusing to back a bipartisan Senate plan to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless they first secure guaranteed funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, hardening a standoff in Washington that has kept the department in a record shutdown.
For context, the Senate has already passed, by unanimous consent, a bill that would restore funding for the bulk of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That legislation deliberately carves out ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), leaving their budgets to be decided later in a separate Republican-only reconciliation bill that could move through Congress by 1 June. Democrats have said they will not support fresh money for ICE and Border Patrol without what they describe as 'significant' reforms to immigration enforcement.
