The House of Representatives could vote as early as today on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the budget year — without any restrictions on immigration. The vote would be a victory for President Obama as Republicans had wanted to strip funding for the president's executive actions on immigration from the bill.
In a closed-door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, reportedly said the House is making the right decision, but he remained critical of Obama's action to temporarily block the deportation of millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
"I am as outraged and frustrated as you at the lawless and unconstitutional actions of this president," Boehner told his caucus. His comments were reported by Fox News.
The House bill is in line with a Senate measure that passed last week, providing the agency with full funding through Sept. 30. In a dramatic vote late last week, the House voted to approve the department's funding by one week. As Eyder and Bill reported:
"The passage capped a day of scrambling that saw a longer three-week stopgap shot down in the House, 203-224, NPR's Juana Summers reports. More than 50 Republican upset with the deletion of a provision stripping funds from President Obama's immigration moves joined the chamber's Democrats, who at that time were still pushing for full funding through Sept. 30. "This battle has been brewing in Congress for months, since President Obama issued a series of executive actions giving legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants."
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