Seven Dems Vote to Back DHS Funding Bill Amid ICE ‘Controversies’

Seven House Democrats broke ranks with their party Thursday to help Republicans pass a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill that funds Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, despite opposition from Democratic leaders who demanded tougher restrictions on the agency.

The DHS bill passed 220–207, with only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voting against it. The measure now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers are racing to avert a partial government shutdown by Jan. 30.

The DHS measure is part of a broader $1.2 trillion package composed of four spending bills that will fund multiple federal departments, including War, Education, Labor, Transportation, and Health and Human Services. The larger bundle passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, 341–88, marking the first time in nearly three decades that Congress has completed full-year funding bills without relying on massive omnibus measures or temporary “continuing resolutions.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) hailed the votes as a return to regular order. “We will be making history this week, having moved 12 appropriations bills through the process,” Johnson said. “A lot of people thought it would be impossible, but we stuck to it and stuck together.”

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) echoed that sentiment. “We aren’t here for just another stopgap temporary fix,” Cole said on the House floor. “We are here to finish the job by providing full-year funding. This measure is a product of sustained engagement and serious legislation.”

While the overall package drew bipartisan praise, the DHS bill triggered fierce backlash from most Democrats, who objected to what they called insufficient safeguards against ICE misconduct under President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) accused the administration of “misusing taxpayer dollars to brutalize U.S. citizens,” citing the recent ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman killed after allegedly driving her vehicle toward an agent.

“Kristi Noem and ICE are out of control,” Jeffries claimed. “Taxpayer dollars are being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens, including the tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good. This extremism must end.”

Despite those objections, seven Democrats sided with Republicans, arguing that passing the DHS bill was necessary to keep the government open and maintain funding for other essential programs.

Democratic Whip Pete Aguilar (D-CA) acknowledged the split within his caucus, saying that individual members had to weigh their districts’ priorities. “All the guardrails in the world don’t make sense if the administration isn’t going to follow the law and the language that we pass,” Aguilar said. “Ultimately, members are going to vote for what’s in the best interest of their districts.”

The DHS bill includes common sense measures, such as new requirements for ICE agents to wear body cameras and undergo additional public interaction training. Left-wing lawmakers, however, say the provisions fall far short of meaningful oversight.

Senate Democrats are now signaling resistance to the DHS measure, setting up another partisan battle in the upper chamber. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, said he would not support the bill despite participating in its negotiations.

“The bill lacks meaningful constraints on the growing lawlessness of ICE and increases funding for detention over last year’s appropriations,” Murphy said. “Democrats have no obligation to support a bill that funds the dystopian scenes we are seeing in Minneapolis and allows DHS to replicate that playbook of brutality across the country.”

Still, after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history earlier this year, few lawmakers appear willing to risk another. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has expressed confidence that both parties can finalize the package before the Jan. 30 deadline.

“Democrats and Republicans alike understand that the American people don’t want more chaos in Washington,” Schumer said. “We can fund the government and still have a serious conversation about how to make ICE accountable — those goals are not mutually exclusive.”

The Senate is expected to take up the funding package next week. If passed, it would secure government funding through the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year and cement the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities despite ongoing radical Democrat resistance.