Democrats are using a DHS funding deadline as leverage to try to force changes to how Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement officers carry out immigration enforcement, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries warning they will seek to block the funding when it expires in two weeks unless there is “dramatic changes” and “real accountability.”
The dispute is unfolding as Congress considers potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after officers shot and killed two Minneapolis protesters in January. Schumer told reporters that lawmakers must “rein in ICE in very serious ways, and end the violence,” while Jeffries said Democrats were “drawing a line in the sand” because Republicans need Democratic votes to keep the money flowing.
Republicans, meanwhile, have signaled skepticism about reaching agreement quickly. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that it is “an impossibility” to negotiate and pass a deal so complicated in two weeks, even as the negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over enforcement operations that have “rocked Minnesota and other states.”
As the two sides negotiate, Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that DHS funding be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while discussions continue. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this weekend that he was present when Trump spoke with Schumer and that the two sides were “on the path to get agreement,” but Democrats’ demands appear to run into Republican resistance, particularly around whether officers must unmask and identify themselves and around when judges—not immigration authorities—must sign warrants.
The demands also intersect with broader Republican priorities tied to the Homeland Security spending bill. House GOP lawmakers are seeking to add their own legislation, including a measure that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote. Republican senators such as Lindsey Graham also have pushed restrictions on sanctuary jurisdictions, which are generally described as state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, though there is no clear definition of which jurisdictions qualify.
Schumer and Jeffries sent Thune and Johnson their list of “common sense solutions that protect constitutional rights and ensure responsible law enforcement” as they argued the deal must improve officer accountability and constrain enforcement. Pressley of Massachusetts said she would not support any agreement that does not require unmasking, adding she “ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE” and that “My position has not changed.”
The dispute has surfaced in several specific areas. On body cameras, Republicans said they are open to officer-worn cameras—an approach that was already included in the underlying homeland security spending bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered body-worn cameras for every DHS officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE, with the policy intended to expand nationwide as funding becomes available; the bill also directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras. Gil Kerlikowske, a former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said most agents are “very supportive” of cameras because they could help exonerate officers, but he warned that questions remained about when footage should be released and when cameras must be activated—questions Democrats have pressed on, with Schumer saying Tuesday that the cameras “need to stay on.”
On masking, Democrats have argued that removing masks would increase accountability, while Republicans have warned that unmasking could expose officers to harassment and threats. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Committee for Homeland Security, said “State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it,” and asked “what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?” Johnson said Tuesday that, unlike local law enforcement, ICE agents are being “doxed and targeted,” and he said unmasking and placing identifying information on uniforms would “obviously” lead to targeting. Federal regulations require immigration officers to identify themselves “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” ICE officials say they follow those rules, and critics such as Nithya Nathan Pineau of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center said officers are seen “routinely” not following them.
The warrant standards have also become a central point. Democrats have demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and an end to roving patrols of agents targeting people in the streets and in their homes. Schumer said Tuesday he wants “arrest warrants and an end to racial profiling,” and the negotiations have focused on whether arrests are carried out under administrative warrants—internal documents issued by immigration authorities authorizing a specific person’s arrest—or under warrants signed by judges, which traditionally authorize forcible entries into private homes and other non-public spaces. An internal ICE memo obtained by The Associated Press last month authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based on a narrower administrative warrant tied to a final order of removal, a move that advocates say conflicts with Fourth Amendment protections. Democrats have not said how broadly they would require judicial warrants, Jeffries said Democrats want “an end to the targeting of sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals,” and Johnson said Democrats are seeking “an entirely new layer” by requiring judge-signed warrants, saying “We can’t do that.”
The talks also include calls for a uniform code of conduct for ICE and other federal agents similar to standards for state and local law enforcement. Democrats point to a dispute involving evidence access after a protester named Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, when federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence, Gov. Tim Walz said it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept an investigation excluding the state.
Thune said negotiations should occur between Democrats and Trump, and he challenged the practicality of reaching quick agreement. “I don’t think it’s very realistic,” Thune said Tuesday, while adding, “But there’s always miracles, right?”