Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is expected to shutter at the end of this week, as congressional Democrats barter with the White House over immigration enforcement.
Republican appropriators had a deal to modestly reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would have allocated new money for body cameras and de-escalation training. Senate Democrats tanked that deal, however, after a second U.S. citizen was killed in an altercation with federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Since then, the Senate has been an obstacle to final passage as Democrats dig in on bigger reforms to address the conduct of immigration enforcement officers.
Republicans agreed to punt the question of DHS spending for another two weeks, a timeline Democrats demanded to fund the rest of the federal government. But the new deadline they set, Feb. 13, is about to arrive with both sides still far apart on what a new compromise might entail.
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Republicans have expressed openness to a legislative solution, but they are bringing their own demands to the table and have rejected some of the Democratic reforms — in particular, a ban on face masks and tighter warrant requirements — as nonstarters.
The impasse means there will likely be at least a temporary shutdown for DHS on Saturday, the third for Washington in the past year. ICE will remain funded through money allocated under President Donald Trump’s tax law, but other departments with national security functions will shutter, including the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration.
Little time for a deal
Democrats made their opening offer in funding talks last week, staking out reforms that include new use-of-force standards and a ban on immigration enforcement at sensitive sites such as schools and churches.
But Republicans, who initially wanted six weeks to negotiate DHS spending, have balked at the short window to reach a deal and hope to keep the agency open with another short-term funding patch.
Negotiations can now get underway in earnest: Democrats sent legislative text for their demands to Republicans over the weekend, according to two sources familiar with the talks. What remains to be seen is whether those negotiations will take place during another government shutdown.
It usually takes Congress at least a full week to send legislation to the president’s desk. And it’s not yet clear if Republicans have the votes to pass a funding extension through the Senate, where Democrats have leverage due to the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
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Democratic leaders are signaling they will oppose anything short of a full-year compromise hammered out with the White House. Democratic centrists, meanwhile, are staying noncommittal on a funding Band-Aid, but could lend their support if they believe negotiations are headed in the right direction.
Some Senate Democrats have also proposed funding all of DHS except ICE, an idea that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a former Democratic majority leader in the House, began publicly floating last week.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said he could tee up a funding patch as soon as Monday, though he has not yet committed to doing so.
Both sides dig in
The White House, responding to public backlash over its enforcement tactics, has drawn down its forces in Minneapolis and is requiring body cameras for all remaining officers.
Trump also sent Tom Homan, his border czar, there to strike a more conciliatory note with local leaders and ended his surge to Maine following outreach by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Taken together, the steps have laid the groundwork for negotiations Republicans say are being made in good faith. Yet Democrats believe the olive branch is just the beginning of what needs to be a full reassessment of ICE conduct, and that the Trump administration cannot be trusted to reform itself. Instead, Democrats want to see any changes to DHS codified into law and view the funding bill as a forcing mechanism.
Republicans have expressed openness to changes that “professionalize” ICE, which has quickly staffed up with money from Trump’s signature tax bill, but they are downplaying expectations of a sweeping compromise and have made clear that any deal will require concessions from Democrats. In particular, Republicans are pushing for an end to “sanctuary” policies that direct local law enforcement not to cooperate with the federal government on immigration.
A narrower deal could come together, as Thune and other Republicans push for Democrats to sit down with the White House. But the debate has, for the most part, become mired in partisan posturing over which side is to blame for the impending shutdown.
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Democrats note that many of the ideas they are proposing today were discussed weeks ago as part of the original deal reached on DHS funding. Republicans say Democrats are risking national security with eleventh-hour negotiations and are delivering new legislative text with little time left to negotiate.
The blame game turned into a cross-chamber spat between Thune and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) last week, as the two leaders accused each other of being “afraid” to cut a deal.
