A Homeland Security shutdown is more likely after Republicans reject Democrats’ ICE demands

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officials are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will be shut down next week if they don’t work with Republicans and the White House.

Democrats have said they will not vote on a DHS spending bill after funding runs out unless “dramatic changes” are made to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement agencies in the wake of the fatal shooting of two protesters in Minneapolis last month.

Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries released an extended list of 10 detailed proposals Wednesday night to curb President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign. Among the demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use of force standards and a need to stop racial profiling.

Congress is trying to renegotiate the DHS spending bill after Trump agreed to a Democratic request last week that it be separated from the larger spending measure and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties negotiate. The deal comes after ICU nurse Alex Pretty was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, and some Republicans agreed new sanctions were needed.

But after nearly a week, a shutdown starting Feb. 14 is increasingly likely as Republicans have gone quiet on most of the Democrats’ requests.

“This is not a blank check situation where Republicans agree to a list of Democrat demands,” said Thune, RSD. “The only way to get reforms to ICE is to agree on a bill.”

As of now, Thune said, “we’re not close to any kind of agreement.”

In addition to ICE and US Customs and Border Protection, the homeland security bill includes funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. If DHS shuts down, Thune said, “there’s a very good chance we’ll see more travel problems like the 43-day government shutdown last year.”

Democratic demands

Schumer, DN.Y. said he was “shocked to hear” Republicans say his party’s proposals were political or impractical.

“It’s about people’s basic rights, it’s about people’s safety,” Schumer said. If Republicans don’t like the ideas, he said, “they need to explain why.”

Schumer and Jeffries, D-N.Y., have made several demands, including no masks for officers, judicial warrants and better federal coordination with local authorities. Several new items were added to the list they released Wednesday, including stricter use-of-force policies, legal protections in detention centers and a ban on tracking protesters with body-worn cameras.

Democrats say Congress should end indiscriminate arrests, “reform the warrant process and standards,” the law is clear that officers cannot enter private property without a judicial warrant and, before detaining a person, it is necessary to prove that the person is not a U.S. citizen.

They want an end to racial profiling, saying DHS officers are prohibited from stopping, questioning or searching people “based on a person’s presence in certain places, their occupation, their spoken language and accent, or their race and ethnicity.”

For officials conducting immigration enforcement, Democrats say that in addition to officers removing their masks and showing identification, DHS should regulate and standardize uniforms and equipment to bring them in line with other law enforcement agencies.

Republican pushback

Schumer called it a “gut-checking moment for Congress” as immigration enforcement actions rock Minneapolis and other U.S. cities. But the Republicans refused.

John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 Republican senator, said the demands were “radical and extreme” and a “far-left wish list.”

Sen. Katie Britt, who is helping to lead the negotiations, warned that the list was a “ridiculous Christmas list of demands” and would be finished before the deadline.

“I encourage them to talk to the White House,” she said. “We only have a week left.”

Down to the final funding bill

Thune also encouraged Democrats and the White House to talk. It’s unclear whether they are or whether Democrats are willing to back down on any of their demands.

Some Republicans have their own demands, including laws requiring proof of citizenship before Americans can register to vote and banning cities they say don’t do enough to curb illegal immigration.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. He said it’s up to Republicans to make sure the government doesn’t shut down because they’re in charge.

“The American people want to stop this abuse,” Murphy said.

Some look to limit pain

Other lawmakers are exploring options to prevent another partial shutdown.

One idea that has been floated is essentially providing funding for disaster assistance from other agencies within DHS — the Coast Guard, airport operations under TSA and FEMA.

“Why didn’t you take that off the table?” said Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, whose state has needed FEMA funding from recent disasters.

“If they don’t think they can do it,” he said of immigration enforcement reform. “I really think they need to look at a la carte funding of agencies.”

Some Democrats have said they agree, but Thune said Thursday that splitting the DHS appropriations bill to separate ICE would “protect law enforcement.”

Splitting the bill would essentially cut ICE by allowing it to go without its regular federal funding because the agency has such a strong budget from Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill from last year.

ICE is expected to receive about $10 billion in the annual appropriations bill, a fraction of the $175 billion-plus for homeland security for the administration’s mass deportation agenda.

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Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.