Nearly a month into the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, Congress is no closer to a deal to reopen the department, with Republicans and Democrats still at a stalemate over immigration enforcement reforms.
This is the second time in less than six months that Democrats have forced a shutdown over policy demands, resulting in hundreds of thousands of federal employees missing paychecks.
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., attempted Wednesday to advance funding legislation that would isolate border patrol and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement funding from the Homeland Security appropriations bill.
Murray argued that funding all of the department except CBP and ICE would allow negotiations to continue while allowing agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, and the Coast Guard to operate uninhibited and pay their workers.
“The reason we are here at an impasse is not because Democrats don’t want a deal, that’s ridiculous,” Murray told lawmakers. “Democrats’ position here is simple: we want reforms to rein in ICE and Border Patrol, we also want TSA and FEMA funded, but we are not going to be blackmailed into cutting a blank check for ICE to get it done.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., blocked the bill, accusing Democrats of rebuffing repeated attempts by both Republican leaders and the White House to craft a full DHS funding deal with Democrats.
“We are trying to close a deal that would enable us to fund all the agencies that Democrats say they want funded, with reforms to ICE,” Thune said on the floor. “And I’ve seen the offer sheet from the White House, and they have gone a lot farther, a lot farther than any Democrat I think was even possible.”
The Trump administration has responded to calls for greater accountability in DHS after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in January, the second killing during that month of a U.S. citizen protesting in Minneapolis.
DHS has implemented some of the reforms demanded by Democrats, such as implementing body-worn cameras on immigration enforcement agents and ending roving patrols. President Donald Trump also ousted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
But Democrats say they won’t budge unless all of their demands are met, including prohibiting DHS agents from wearing masks, requiring they display personal IDs, and mandating they obtain a judicial warrant before arresting people on private property.
“[I]f Democrats cared about reforms, they’d be coming to the table to get a bill. Instead, they’re playing politics,” Thune said. “Democrats now see government shutdowns as a handy tool to use anytime they don’t get everything that they want. And they don’t care if they force people to work without pay indefinitely. They don’t care if they put our national security and public safety in jeopardy. They only care about what’s in it for them.”
With the lapse in funding, DHS employees deemed “essential” – including TSA agents and most members of FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service – have worked without pay, causing hours-long delays at airports across the country.
