A partial US government shutdown appears increasingly likely as Senate Democrats threaten to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless the Biden administration agrees to sweeping reforms of ICE operations, including accountability measures and identification requirements for federal agents
Law enforcement detains a protestor during a demonstration and vigil outside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Pic/AFP
With a partial government shutdown looming, Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands Wednesday for the Department of Homeland Security, including an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that officers show identification as the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
It remained unclear if President Donald Trump and Republicans would be willing to meet those demands, even as funding for DHS and a swath of other government agencies was at risk of expiring Saturday. Irate Democrats have pledged to block a spending bill unless their demands for reforms are met.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that the legislation won't pass until US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is "reined in and overhauled."
"The American people support law enforcement, they support border security, they do not support ICE terrorising our streets and killing American citizens," Schumer said.
With an uncertain path ahead, the standoff threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies, a dispute that closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.
That shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more united this time after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.
There's a lot of "unanimity and shared purpose" within the Democratic caucus, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said after a lunch meeting Wednesday.
"Boil it all down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does," Smith said. "There has to be accountability."
Democrats lay out their demands
As the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement surge goes on, Schumer said Democrats are asking the White House to "end roving patrols" in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.
Democrats also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have "masks off, body cameras on" and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.
The Democratic caucus is united in those "commonsense reforms" and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said. He has asked Republicans to separate out the Homeland Security bill from the others to avoid a broader shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he was waiting for Democrats to outline what they want, and he suggested that they need to be negotiating with the White House. He indicated that he might be open to some of their demands, but encouraged Democrats and the White House to talk and find agreement.
Many obstacles to a deal
It was unclear whether Trump would weigh in, or how seriously the White House was engaged - or whether the two sides could agree on anything that would satisfy Democrats. The White House had invited some Democrats for a discussion to better understand their positions and avoid a partial government shutdown, a senior White House official said, but the meeting did not happen. The official requested anonymity to discuss the private invitation.
With no serious negotiations underway, a partial shutdown appeared increasingly likely starting Saturday. The House passed the six remaining funding bills last week and sent them to the Senate as a package, and that makes it difficult to strip out the homeland security portion as Democrats are demanding. Republicans could break the package apart with the consent of all 100 senators, which would be complicated, or through a series of votes that would extend past the Friday deadline.
Even if the Senate could resolve the issue, House Republicans have made clear they do not want any changes to the bill they have passed. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the president and ICE.
"The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security," according to the letter.
Republican opposition
Several Republican senators have said they would be fine with Democrats' request to separate the Homeland Security funds for further debate and pass the other bills in the package. But it was unlikely that Democrats would find broad GOP support for their demands on ICE.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he's OK with separating the bills, but opposed to the Democrats' proposal to require the immigration enforcement officers to unmask and show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are "tarnishing" the agency's reputation.
"The thing about the masks, I really do disagree," Tillis said. "You know, there's a lot of vicious people out there, and they'll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home. And that's just the reality of the world that we're in."
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said that "what happened over the weekend is a tragedy," but Democrats shouldn't punish Americans with a shutdown and a "political stunt."
Democrats say they won't back down. "It is truly a moral moment," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. "I think we need to take a stand."
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