House and Senate Democrats are demanding significant restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of a border security funding package, risking a partial government shutdown amid Republican resistance.
House Democratic leaders have pressed Republican counterparts to accept a package of sweeping curbs on Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the price for approving Department of Homeland Security funding, setting up a fraught standoff that could push part...
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s of the government toward a partial shutdown.
According to KOAT, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have delivered ten specific demands aimed at reining in ICE, saying they will not back the DHS spending bill without them. “We know that ICE is completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries said. “They’ve gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in,” KOAT reported.
The proposals include requiring judicial warrants before officers may detain people on private property, banning ICE agents from wearing masks during enforcement operations and mandating body-worn cameras for DHS officers. The Guardian and The Washington Post report that progressive Democrats have been the principal drivers of the effort, urging colleagues to hold firm as leverage to force policy changes inside the agency.
Some Republican lawmakers have expressed limited willingness to discuss adjustments to enforcement practices, but resistance remains strong. KOAT and CBS News cite Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty dismissing the demands on Fox News Sunday as more political theatre than the basis for serious bargaining, saying “I think it’s clear ICE themselves are ready to deal with the body cameras,” and adding that “this isn’t a serious negotiation. This is all happening in the media trying to motivate a radical left base.”
Republican critiques focus on both substance and safety. Some GOP figures argue the reforms would undermine immigration enforcement and favour eliminating sanctuary jurisdictions instead, while others caution that prohibiting masks could expose agents to greater risk during sensitive operations, The Washington Post reported.
The dispute carries practical consequences beyond immigration policy. KOAT and other outlets note that a lapse in DHS funding would affect agencies ranging from FEMA to the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, potentially leaving air traffic controllers and other essential personnel working without pay and raising the prospect of travel delays for millions.
Democrats say the measures are intended to increase transparency and accountability after what they characterise as unchecked ICE practices. Republicans counter that the demands exceed what is feasible in a short-term spending negotiation and risk politicising operational decisions. Both sides, according to coverage by The Guardian, The Washington Post and CBS News, appear to be holding firm as the DHS funding deadline approaches, leaving the outcome uncertain.
Source: Noah Wire Services
