Executive Summary

• The Senate has passed a nearly $70-billion reconciliation package centered on immigration enforcement agencies, specifically Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• The original $72-billion package was revised to remove or rewrite certain provisions that violated the Senate’s “Byrd Rule,” or that received intense pushback from lawmakers; these revisions included removing $1.5 billion in additional funding for the Department of Justice and $1 billion for the U.S. Secret Service.
• The legislation now goes to the House, which is expected to vote on the package next week.

Introduction

The Senate has passed a nearly $70-billion reconciliation package, the Secure America Act, centered on immigration enforcement agencies, specifically Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The package is a revised version of the original $72-billion reconciliation package introduced in May. Portions of the original legislation were removed or rewritten after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that they violated the “Byrd Rule,” or in response to intense pushback from lawmakers. Notably, the $1.5 billion of additional Department of Justice (DOJ) funding was stripped, as was the $1 billion of additional U.S. Secret Service funding. The House is expected to vote on the package next week.

Summary of Senate-passed Reconciliation Package

Sources: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Senate Judiciary Committee.

A Closer Look at the Senate-passed Reconciliation Package

The $69.5 billion in funding would be appropriated in fiscal year (FY) 2026 but be available for use through the end of FY 2029. This ensures immigration enforcement agencies are funded through the rest of President Trump’s term. The reconciliation package is unusual in that it provides funding for federal agencies that are typically funded through the annual appropriations process.

CBP would receive $22.6 billion of funding to hire, pay, train, and equip border patrol agents and border support personnel.

ICE would get $38.5 billion of funding to hire, pay, and train ICE personnel, including officers, agents, investigators, attorneys, and support staff. The ICE funding would also cover transportation costs associated with alien departure or removal operations, information technology, and facility and fleet maintenance, as well as support coordination with state and local authorities for immigration enforcement activities.

In addition, $3.5 billion would be provided to CBP for the procurement of new inspection equipment, new platforms for rapid air and marine response capabilities, upgraded border surveillance technologies, combating drug trafficking, and non-immigration enforcement and customs missions’ expenses. The original version of the legislation included language that would have allowed the funding to be used to screen people entering and exiting the United States and to conduct initial screenings of unaccompanied alien children. The Senate parliamentarian ruled this language violated the Byrd Rule because it undermined statutory child protection requirements and fell outside the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s jurisdiction.

Finally, $5 billion of additional funding would be provided to the Department of Homeland Security to ensure adequate funding for border security across the board.

The Senate-passed package does not include the originally planned $1.5 billion of additional DOJ funding. The funding would have supported the missions of the National Security Division on terrorism matters, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Fraud Enforcement Division, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review. It was eliminated in response to intense pushback from lawmakers over the DOJ’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

The $1 billion of additional U.S. Secret Service funding also did not make it into the Senate-passed package. The funding would have been used for security adjustments and upgrades related to the White House ballroom project. The proposed funding faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers. The Senate parliamentarian ultimately ruled that it violated the Byrd Rule as the security upgrades related to the White House ballroom project would involve multiple federal agencies and multiple Senate committees, making it ineligible for inclusion under the Judiciary Committee’s reconciliation instruction.

Budgetary Impact

The Congressional Budget Office’s estimates the Secure America Act would increase primary (non-interest) budget deficits by $69.5 billion over the FY 2026–2035 budget window. After accounting for roughly $25 billion of additional interest costs, the package would increase budget deficits by $94.5 billion over the FY 2026–2035 budget window.