Racing to meet a January 30 deadline, congressional Republicans sided with Democrats to slash funding for immigration enforcement by nearly $2 billion and impose new restrictions on federal law enforcement officers. A 1,059-page Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill was released Tuesday by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, containing massive spending cuts for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The spending bill cuts $1.8 billion from CBP’s budget and $115 million from ICE’s budget, reducing the number of beds in immigration detention facilities by nearly 6,000 and further earmarking $20 million for body cameras to be worn by ICE agents. It also bars Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from allocating federal funding given to DHS “as she sees fit,” imposes strict oversight measures on DHS funding, spending, and operations, and mandates “de-escalation” training for ICE agents.

Democrats have been vying to defund ICE as much as possible following an incident in which a woman, Renee Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis while striking that agent with her SUV. Congressional Democrats have warned Republicans that they may oppose ICE funding altogether and even let a second government shutdown occur, prompting several GOP legislators to compromise on DHS cuts to avert a shutdown.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement, “ICE must be reined in. There must be accountability for the countless abuses, acts of violence, and lawless behavior we have seen on our streets.” While the congresswoman said that the bill “takes several steps in the right direction,” she insisted that it does not go far enough in curbing federal immigration enforcement. However, DeLauro also admitted that failing to approve funding for DHS would likely furlough thousands of Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) employees and potentially disrupt Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) funds. “I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE,” she said. “I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities.”

Other Democrats have announced plans to vote against the funding bill entirely, in an effort to cripple ICE operations. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), for example, reportedly told his colleagues that he intends to vote against the legislation. Republicans on the Appropriations Committees, however, framed the funding cuts as a necessary compromise. “The Appropriations Committee held the line on spending, putting forward 12 negotiated bills that actually reduce spending relative to what would have been spent in a continuing resolution. We did so while ensuring full funding for countless priorities of both the Republican conference and the Trump Administration,” House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told his colleagues. “As members of this committee are well aware, bipartisan and bicameral negotiations are complex and take time,” he continued. “Nonetheless, today marks the third time in as many weeks that we are appearing before you with a package representing the consensus, deliberation, and the priorities of our great nation. As with our previous packages, this outcome reflects the reality of serious governing: shared contributions and shared compromise.”

In comments to The Washington Stand, Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, declared, “In no world should Congress be cutting ICE’s resources. Members well know that ICE has scores of removal and investigations offices throughout the U.S., from which they are conducting law enforcement without attack.” She added, “It is only where the anarchist funders send their rent-a-rioters to attack ICE agents and criminally obstruct federal enforcement of the law that we see news about ICE. So, ICE isn’t the provocateur; the riot funders, organizers, and obstructors are.”

“Americans voted in 2024 for mass deportations. We have at least 20 million deportable aliens in this country, and we want our sovereignty, safety, and rule of law back,” Ries continued. “Our representatives in Congress are supposed to represent us, which means sustaining and supporting high levels of ICE resources to increase the number of deportations,” she noted. “Members should not side with the lying Left that wants to return to knee-capping ICE to protect their own fraudulent political power built on mass illegal immigration.”