Democratic and Republican lawmakers are recalibrating their positions on immigration enforcement after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens during deportation operations in Minneapolis have shaken the politics surrounding Congress’ next funding fight, Associated Press reported.
AP said the dispute is increasing pressure on lawmakers as Congress considers a six-bill federal funding package that is expected to cover more than 70% of federal operations. The same reporting said Congress is spiraling toward a partial federal shutdown if no resolution is reached by midnight Friday.
Democrats have pushed back against funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s military-style immigration enforcement operations unless restraints are added, AP reported. Two former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, broke from retirement to speak out, AP said, as party leaders treated the Minneapolis shootings as a moral turning point.
At the same time, AP reported that some Republicans who had championed President Donald Trump’s tough approach to immigration were signaling second thoughts. Republicans are pressing for a full investigation into the shooting death of Alex Pretti and for congressional hearings about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, AP said.
AP reported that Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote on social media that Americans are horrified and do not want their tax dollars funding what he called brutality from immigration enforcement, adding: “Not another dime to this lawless operation.” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the GOP chair of the Appropriations Committee, said Monday that the death of Pretti refocused attention on the Homeland Security bill and that she recognized and shared concerns, AP reported. Collins urged colleagues to stick to the funding deal and avoid what AP described as a detrimental shutdown.
Seeking to lower tensions, the White House sent Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take over for Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, AP said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune posted that he saw the move as “a positive development” and hoped it would lead to “turning down the temperature and restoring order in Minnesota.”
AP reported that behind the scenes the White House is reaching out to congressional leaders and even individual Democratic senators while seeking a path away from another government shutdown. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said conversations are underway but that Trump wants lawmakers to approve a bipartisan spending package to avoid the possibility of a shutdown, including: “We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse.”
While Democrats are coalescing around changes to ICE operations, AP said some Democrats are describing the goal as restricting how enforcement is conducted rather than ending the agency’s work. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a quote carried by AP that Democrats could still have “some legitimate restriction on how these people are conducting themselves.”
AP also described the political shift as more abrupt than it had been earlier in Trump’s second term. The report said Congress passed the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Trump signed into law in his second term, with dozens of Democrats joining Republicans to do so. AP said the party later moved toward a different stance as Trump’s tactics changed, including after an AP-NORC poll found that 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling immigration, down from 49% in March—reported by AP as part of a January survey conducted shortly after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minnesota.
AP said that last week, almost all House Democrats voted against the Homeland Security bill as the package moved to the Senate, and that Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York reversed course Monday after earlier voting to approve the Homeland Security funds. AP said Suozzi wrote on Facebook that he heard anger from constituents and “take[s] responsibility for that,” adding that he “failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis.”
As the deadline approaches, AP reported that Sen. Chuck Schumer said the responsibility for averting a shutdown fell on Republicans, who control the majority, to break apart the six-bill package—removing Homeland Security funding while allowing other bills to proceed. Schumer also said, “We can pass them right away,” according to AP. The White House characterized that strategy negatively, AP said, and the report also described Speaker Mike Johnson as having been quiet while Republicans weigh whether the dispute could help them politically if a shutdown occurs over Homeland Security funding.
Republicans, AP reported, are also facing pressure from their own side. Sen. Rand Paul demanded that acting ICE director Todd Lyons appear for a hearing, joining similar demands from House Republicans, AP said. Sen. Rick Scott said he would not support stripping DHS of its funding, writing: “I will not support any efforts to strip DHS of its funding.” AP also said the Heritage Foundation criticized Republicans who were “jubilant” about slowing ICE operations, posting: “Deport every illegal alien” and “Nothing less.”
As Congress tries to reach an agreement before the Friday deadline, AP said the central question is whether Republican leaders can keep the broader spending package intact while responding to calls for restrictions and investigations tied to the Minneapolis shootings.