How a $75 Billion Windfall from Congress Has Insulated ICE

The $75 billion in ICE funding Congress approved last year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has allowed the agency to operate nearly unfettered during a record-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown, sidelining Democratic efforts to force reforms like requiring judicial warrants and banning masked officers. Former White House counsel Sam Bagenstos calls the appropriation "a massive shoveling of cash to an agency with few if any strings." Republican leaders now plan to use budget reconciliation again to fund ICE and CBP through the end of Trump's term without Democratic votes.