The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has remained underfunded for five days, but Democrats and Republicans are no closer to reaching a deal on the annual DHS appropriations bill.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that Democrats will continue to ensure the DHS funding bill “will not move forward” unless it contains measures reforming Immigrations and Customs Enforcement “in a dramatic, bold, meaningful, and transformational manner.”
“In terms of the state of play on the current proposal, we’ve responded, we’ve reiterated our perspective on the types of things that are absolutely necessary in order for a DHS funding bill to move forward, all anchored in this principal that ICE needs to conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country, and stop using taxpayer dollars to brutalize the American people,” Jeffries said.
The Homeland Security bill is the only appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 – which began four months ago – that remains unpassed.
This is the second time in less than six months that Democrats have forced a shutdown over policy demands, with the holdup this time centered around demands for immigration enforcement changes.
Demands for greater accountability in DHS erupted after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in January, the second killing that month of a U.S. citizen protesting in Minneapolis.
While Republicans are open to some of the policy demands Democrats have made, they remain staunchly opposed to some measures that Jeffries said “remain lines in the sand” for Democrats.
Those proposed changes include mandating that immigration enforcement agents obtain a judicial warrant on top of an immigration court warrant before entering private property, as well as making some locations completely off-limits, such as churches, hospitals, schools, and polling sites.
Democrats also want to require immigration enforcement agents to display identification and prohibit agents from wearing face masks.
Republicans argue that such changes will cripple efforts to combat illegal immigration and put DHS agents at risk, but Jeffries said Democrats “remain steadfast in our views as to the type of things that have to happen in order for ICE to be dramatically reformed.”
While ICE is suffering no impact from the lapse in DHS appropriations – having received a $75 billion boost from Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill – other agencies like FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration are not so fortunate.
Those agencies have scaled all but the most necessary operations, but more than 90% of their employees are considered “essential” and must therefore show up to work. If the shutdown persists until their next payday, the hundreds of thousands of DHS employees in those and other agencies will miss their paychecks.
