LEXINGTON, Ky. — Senate Republicans are moving ahead with a strategy to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol for three years using a budget process that bypasses Democrats, according to reporting from the Kentucky Lantern.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday he plans to use the reconciliation process to fund the two enforcement agencies, potentially ending a two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began in February after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers.

The Senate could vote as soon as next week on a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, Thune said during an afternoon press conference. The House must then adopt the budget resolution before Republicans can pass the funding bill for ICE and the Border Patrol. "My hope would be that if we can execute on getting that done here in the Senate, the House would be able to follow through," Thune said.

The move reflects deep partisan divisions over immigration enforcement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats have repeatedly requested "common sense" safeguards, including requirements that immigration agents show identification, prevent them from wearing masks and obtain judicial warrants to enter homes. "The bottom line is these are simple. These are common sense," Schumer said.

Thune countered that Democrats obtained nothing from the shutdown. "All of the things that the Democrats made this about, which was supposed to be reforms to the way that ICE and CBP operate. They got none of that. Zero," he said, referring to Customs and Border Protection. "And now we're going to fund those agencies for three years into the future."

The plan would combine with a regular funding bill already approved by the Senate, which remains stalled in the House. The House would then likely pass the DHS spending bill without funding for ICE and Border Patrol, providing money for other agencies including the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration.

Thune is seeking to keep the reconciliation bill narrowly focused on immigration enforcement funding, though some Republicans have suggested adding unrelated provisions. House Speaker Mike Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the GOP plan.