Fort Bend County congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher said she applauds a bill to end the DHS shutdown without funding ICE or Customs and Border Patrol.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7147, Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security through Fiscal Year 2026.

This bill does not include funding for enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, which collectively received an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1). “Passing this bill finally ends a record 75-day shutdown of DHS and provides hard- worki ng federal employees— including those with the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard — much-needed financial stability,” said Fletcher, whose District 7 includes a portion of Fort Bend County. “House and Senate Democrats repeatedly proposed funding these agencies throughout this shutdown while negotiations on immigration enforcement activities continue, and I am glad House Republicans finally joined us in doing so.”

While there is still work to do to curb this administration’s abuses, passing this legislation funds the agencies that Americans depend on while withholding additional funding from ICE and CBP, Fletcher told The Herald.

“Now, Republicans must work to address Americans’ legitimate concerns and negotiate with Democrats on critical reforms to the Trump administration’s lawlessness in its immigration enforcement policies,” she said.

Earlier this year, Fletcher introduced the Freeze Ice Act, H.R. 7392, to stop the rapid recruitment of unvetted individuals at ICE. And in March, Fletcher signed a discharge paper to force a vote on H.R. 7481, legislation to immediately fund all of DHS except for ICE and CBP.

The bill passed the House by voice vote and is now headed to President Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law.

Fletcher has represented Texas’ Seventh Congressional District in Houston and the greater Houston area since 2019. She is Vice Ranking Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Chair of the Texas Democratic Delegation, and a member of the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee. She is also Vice Chair and Whip of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Vice Chair of the Equality Caucus, and a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

View this story in the Fort Bend Herald.