1 of 4 | Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference Tuesday after weekly Senate caucus luncheons at the U.S. Capitol. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
April 14 (UPI) -- A budget resolution to fund federal immigration enforcement could hit the Senate floor by next week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday, as Republicans seek to bypass Democratic demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
Federal funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol lapsed on Feb. 14 after Republicans agreed with the Democrats to remove the Department of Homeland Security from a larger spending package and avert a government shutdown.
Neither agency has been funded through regular DHS appropriations since, though they continue operating through other, emergency funding.
Democrats began demanding reforms to the federal immigration enforcement agencies before agreeing to restore funding after two U.S. citizens were killed by federal immigration officers amid President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown.
