The measure now goes to the House, which is expected to consider it on Friday.
The U.S. Senate unanimously advanced legislation on March 27 approving funding for all components of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and some parts of Customs and Border Protection.
The bill to fund the DHS now heads to the House of Representatives for a vote expected on March 27.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters the legislation has “zero reforms” on immigration enforcement policy.
“We’ve been trying for weeks to fund the whole thing,” Thune said. “And, I mean, in the end, this is what they were willing to agree to. But again, it’s different that it has zero reforms in it. I mean, they got no reforms on DHS, which they could have had if they had been willing to work with us a little bit on that.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the deal could have been reached weeks ago, and vowed that his party would continue fighting to ensure President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operation “does not get more funding without serious reform.”
Funding for the DHS lapsed last month after Congress failed to reach an agreement as Democrats pushed for reforms to federal immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during operations in Minnesota earlier this year.
The partial shutdown left about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay and forced hundreds of officers to quit the agency, according to DHS.
The department said on March 25 that more than 3,120 TSA officers had called out sick as they were unable to afford gas and pay rent, leading to continued long lines at airports across the country.
Trump wrote in a March 26 post on Truth Social that he would sign an order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to ensure TSA agents who have not been paid since the department’s partial shutdown in mid-February receive their pay.
“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do,” Trump said in the post.
“It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it! I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.”
If the Senate package is approved and becomes law, the order Trump intends to sign to ensure TSA agents are paid may no longer be needed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
