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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The Senate took the first steps in a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security early Thursday, voting to adopt a budget plan that would fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections and sending it to the House. <\/p>\n The entire department has been shut down since mid-February as Democrats have demanded policy changes<\/a> in the wake of fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two immigration enforcement agencies through the complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump\u2019s package of tax and spending cuts<\/a> last year with no Democratic votes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,\u201d said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.<\/p>\n The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules that require Republicans to find 60 votes on most bills when they only hold 53 seats. But it also comes with increased scrutiny from the Senate parliamentarian<\/a> and a long, open-ended series of amendment votes at the beginning and the end of the process. <\/p>\n The Senate held the first series of votes through the night, starting Wednesday evening and into early Thursday morning, with Democrats proposing amendments to lower health care expenses and other costs in an effort to contrast with Republicans\u2019 focus on Trump\u2019s campaign of immigration enforcement. <\/p>\n \u201cInstead of pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans should be working with Democrats to lower out-of-pocket costs,\u201d said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. <\/p>\n The Senate adopted the final resolution 50-48, just past 3:30 a.m.<\/p>\n Once the House approves the framework and the Senate Parliamentarian approves it, the two chambers can then move to pass the measure.<\/p>\n The Senate has already voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen the rest of the department, but Republican leaders in the House say they won\u2019t take that bill up until the Senate shows progress toward funding ICE and Border Patrol, as well. <\/p>\n The $70 billion budget resolution would fund the two agencies for three years, through the rest of Trump\u2019s term. Thune and other GOP leaders say they hope to keep the bill narrowly focused on ICE and Border Patrol and get it to Trump\u2019s desk in the coming weeks, along with the rest of Homeland Security Department funding that has already passed the Senate. <\/p>\n But that could prove difficult as many in the party see the budget bill as the last real chance this year to enact their priorities. Republicans in both the Senate and House have pushed to add other items, including money for farmers and Trump\u2019s proof of citizenship voting bill<\/a>, called the SAVE America Act. <\/p>\n Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., briefly held up the vote series late Wednesday, frustrated that the bill would not include parts of the SAVE America Act or other legislation. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is the last train leaving the station,\u201d Kennedy said, predicting they would not be able to pass any other major bills ahead of November’s midterm elections. But he withdrew his objections and allowed the voting to proceed. <\/p>\n Democrats say any funding bill for the Homeland Security Department should place restraints on federal immigration authorities<\/a>, including better identification for federal officers and more use of judicial warrants, among other asks.<\/p>\n After federal agents shot Renee Good<\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/a> in Minneapolis in January, Trump agreed to a Democratic request<\/a> that the Homeland Security bill be separated from a larger spending measure that became law. But bipartisan negotiations went nowhere, and the DHS funding lapsed with no agreement on changes to the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement tactics.<\/p>\n In March, the Senate passed the legislation by voice vote that would separate out ICE and Border Patrol and fund the rest of the department, including the Transportation Security Administration as security lines grew long at some airports. But Republicans in the House refused to consider it<\/a>, saying they wouldn\u2019t support any bill that didn\u2019t include money for immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Congress then left town for a two-week recess, leaving the issue unresolved. Trump has used executive orders<\/a> to pay some department salaries in the meantime, but the future of those paychecks is uncertain.<\/p>\n