Senate Republicans block DACA protection amendment in ICE, CBP funding vote

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Senate blocks DACA amendment

Highlights

Senate Republicans block Dick Durbin's amendment to protect DACA recipients as the measure fails 48-51 during a $70 billion ICE and CBP funding vote.
Durbin's amendment, aimed at shifting $10 million toward DACA renewal processing and preventing enforcement against qualifying recipients, is rejected amid continued deportation concerns.
ICE arrests 261 DACA recipients and removes 86 between January 1, 2025, and November 19, 2025, as DACA holders drop from 530,000 in September 2024 to 515,000 in June 2025, intensifying legal work eligibility risks.

Funding vote and amendment terms

As reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Republicans block an amendment from U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin during a voting marathon tied to major immigration enforcement funding. The measure fails 48-51 as lawmakers consider legislation that would provide nearly $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, says before the vote that DACA recipients came to the United States as children, undergo background checks and receive no special government benefits. His amendment seeks to shift $10 million toward faster processing of DACA renewal applications and to prevent ICE and CBP money in the bill from being used to arrest, detain, deport or remove recipients who meet program requirements.

Broader immigration and labor implications

Durbin argues the vote shows Republicans are willing to support the administration's deportation agenda even for immigrants with DACA status or no criminal record. The debate comes as current DACA holders face both renewal delays and a recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision that, according to the statement, increases the risk that some recipients could receive removal orders despite valid authorization.

The statement says ICE arrested at least 261 DACA recipients and removed 86 from the country between January 1, 2025, and November 19, 2025. It also says the number of DACA holders declines from about 530,000 in September 2024 to about 515,000 in June 2025, a shift that adds to concerns over legal work eligibility and workforce participation for young immigrants.

Our earlier article on the U.S. State Department’s expanded Ebola response funding detailed a nearly $38 million increase to support outbreak containment efforts in the DRC and Uganda. We explained that the added money builds on more than $200 million in prior direct support and is used for measures such as contact tracing, border screening, health-clinic operations, and frontline worker training.

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