WASHINGTON — Congress has yet to pass the bipartisan deal President Donald Trump struck with Senate Democrats to avert another government shutdown, but lawmakers are already at war over a key part of the package: a two-week negotiation over reforms to ICE following a pair of deadly shootings in Minnesota.
Republicans are flatly opposed to many of Democrats’ demands, such as ensuring federal agents properly identify themselves and take off their masks when interacting with the public, as well as limiting the use of administrative warrants to enter homes during immigration raids.
“They’ll find out where they live, they’ll harass their families, or worse,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told reporters on Monday. “I’m not interested in empowering these people who are hell bent on ending deportations altogether. I want the officers to be safe. I want the protesters to be safe. And there’s a way to do that, which is: don’t interfere with the operations of ICE.”
“The most obnoxious thing the Democrats are pushing for is judicial warrants, which completely neuters our ability to enforce immigration laws,” added Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) while complaining about judges appointed by Democratic presidents blocking Trump’s immigration agenda. “That’s the Democrats’ sneaky way of sounding reasonable, but being grossly unreasonable.”
Last week, Senate Democrats successfully fought to decouple funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader spending package, averting the threat of a wider shutdown while also giving Republicans two weeks to agree to reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Democrats are pushing to end roving immigration patrols in communities across the country, to institute a code of conduct, and to require federal immigration agents to wear body cameras, steps they described as common-sense solutions to address federal agents’ aggressive and sometimes violent tactics, including in the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
“This idea [Mike] Johnson has [that] ICE people should be able to wear masks? Police officers don’t wear masks all across the country,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech on Monday. “If anyone needs to be identified, it’s these abusive thugs who are in the Border Patrol, who are in ICE. If Republicans can’t come to the table on these very sensible changes, then the violence we see around the country is going to continue.”
The Trump administration moved closer to one of Democrats’ demands on Monday, announcing it is deploying body cameras to every federal agent in the field in Minneapolis. That could ultimately help Congress hammer out an agreement on DHS funding later this month. But Democrats want it codified into law rather than just relying on the administration’s word.
“The agreement to do something in one city for a couple of days ain’t going to take the pressure off,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who was among the Democrats who voted to end the last government shutdown, told HuffPost. “We want statutory language that the president will sign, and frankly, we fully expect that when he does, he’ll still violate it, but we’ll be able to get courts to enforce it.”
Although the Senate has approved the funding deal, the House has yet to take it up. House Democrats said they wouldn’t help Johnson pass the bill quickly, increasing pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to get it done on his own. Trump has urged House Republicans to approve the legislation quickly and without changes, making Johnson’s job easier.
Even if the House can get its act together and avert a government shutdown this week, getting a deal to fund DHS in the long term with guardrails on ICE will be difficult. Republicans are making demands of their own, such as pushing to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act. The legislation would limit mail-in voting and set a national photo ID requirement for voting, a nonstarter for Democrats.
“House Republicans shouldn’t let Schumer dictate the terms of government funding,” Rep. Eric Burlinson (R-Mo.) wrote in a post online. “If Dems want to play games, no spending package should come out of the House without the SAVE Act attached—securing American elections must be a non-negotiable.”
Democrats maintain the SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the Senate. And if Republicans do attach it to the government funding package, they add, it will result in a prolonged shutdown.
“The SAVE Act is not about securing our elections. It is about suppressing voters,” Schumer said Monday. “The SAVE Act seeks to disenfranchise millions of American citizens, seize control of our elections, and fan the flames of election skepticism and denialism.”
Meanwhile, progressives are rallying against the funding deal because it doesn’t include any meaningful curbs on ICE. The left is skeptical that anything will result from the DHS negotiations in the Senate. And much of the party’s base is lined up against it, including many up-and-coming Democratic senators who have been mentioned as potential 2028 presidential candidates.
“These guys killed two Americans in two and a half weeks,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told HuffPost. “Giving them more money without any restrictions, I think it’s a very dangerous thing.”
“We as Democrats have the power to stand up and be firm because, literally, Republicans are stealing our democracy and our constitutional rights before our very eyes,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Sunday in an interview on MS NOW. “And if that doesn’t get us to stand up, I honestly don’t know what else can.”
Still, there could be areas for agreement on ICE reform in the coming talks. Senate Republicans have expressed openness to some changes, including body cameras and additional training for immigration agents.