Partial shutdown seems increasingly likely as Democrats demand ICE changes

With a partial government shutdown looming and DHS funding set to expire Saturday, Senate Democrats on Wednesday presented a list of conditions they want the administration to meet, elevating pressure in negotiations over pending spending bills that include Homeland Security funding.

In their proposal, Democrats sought reforms aimed at how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carry out immigration arrests. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer framed the demands as both a response to public anger after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents and as a demand for guardrails that, Democrats said, should apply the same way they do in local law enforcement.

Schumer said he would not back legislation unless ICE is “reined in and overhauled.” He argued that Democrats want changes that ensure immigration enforcement does not operate outside basic accountability expectations, including requirements intended to make agent conduct subject to review and oversight.

Democrats also said they are asking the White House to change enforcement tactics, including ending what Schumer described as “roving patrols” in cities and coordinating immigration arrests with local law enforcement. Democrats further said the effort would include tighter warrant rules as part of how officers are authorized to act.

Another major component of the Democratic list was an enforceable code of conduct for DHS agents, with Schumer saying agents should have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification. Schumer said Republicans should accept those “commonsense reforms,” and he urged lawmakers to keep the Homeland Security bill separated from other items to avoid a broader shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was waiting for Democrats to outline what they want, and he suggested the next step was for Democrats and the White House to negotiate directly. Thune indicated he could be open to some of the proposals, but he pointed to a broader need for talks before any deal could be reached.

The administration’s position remained unclear. A senior White House official said the White House had invited some Democrats for discussions, but the meeting did not happen, and the official requested anonymity to describe the private invitation.

The narrow window for action comes as the House has already passed the remaining six funding bills and sent them to the Senate as a package, making it harder for Democrats to strip out Homeland Security funding without support from all 100 senators or a series of procedural votes that could carry past the Friday deadline. Even if the Senate could resolve the issue, House Republicans have said they do not want changes to the bill the House has passed, and the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote in a letter to Trump that the package will not return to the House without DHS funding.

Several Republicans signaled potential openness to separating the bills for further debate, but they drew lines at key ICE-related demands. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he was willing to separate the bills, while opposing Democrats’ idea that immigration enforcement officers unmask and show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions Tillis said are “tarnishing” the agency’s reputation.

Tillis said in comments to reporters that “The thing about the masks, I really do disagree,” adding that “there’s a lot of vicious people out there” who might target officers’ families. He did not indicate support for an identification and body-camera package as Democrats outlined it.

Other Republicans argued that Democrats should not use the funding fight to force ICE changes. Texas Sen. John Cornyn called the killings “a tragedy,” and said Democrats should not punish Americans with a shutdown and a “political stunt.”

Democrats said they are prepared to hold the line. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called it “truly a moral moment” and said Democrats “need to take a stand,” while Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said that after a lunch meeting Wednesday there is “a lot of ‘unanimity and shared purpose’” within the Democratic caucus.

In the hours ahead of a Saturday funding deadline, the central question for Democrats and Republicans alike was whether the administration and congressional leadership would move toward the specific ICE reforms laid out Wednesday—or whether the dispute would push lawmakers into another partial shutdown fight.