Democrats Demand Limits on ICE as Funding Deadline Nears

(Bloomberg) — The top two congressional Democrats laid out a list of demands to curb the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement posture, an opening bid as lawmakers seek to reach a funding deal for the Department of Homeland Security.

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries listed 10 restrictions they want placed on federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a letter late Wednesday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority leader John Thune.

Those curbs sought include prohibiting Department of Homeland Security officers from entering private property without a judicial warrant, verifying individuals aren’t US citizens before detaining them, requiring agents to wear body cameras and identification badges, and preventing them from covering their faces.

“Federal immigration agents cannot continue to cause chaos in our cities while using taxpayer money that should be used to make life more affordable for working families,” the two Democratic leaders wrote in the letter.

The letter serves as Democrats’ initial offer in a brewing fight with Republicans over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and federal border patrol officers. The department’s funding is set to expire on Feb. 13.

Congress approved a spending package for much of the federal government earlier this week, but only granted a short-term extension of DHS funding to buy more time to negotiate over immigration enforcement policies.

The Democrats’ demands also calls for prohibiting federal agents from conducting operations near schools, hospitals, churches, polling places and courts. It would prevent officers from stopping people based on their jobs, language, accent or race. They are recommending expanded training for officers, improved standards for detention facilities and guidelines for state and local authorities to coordinate with federal agents.

The list includes some ideas that some Republican lawmakers have individually endorsed, including body cameras, removing face masks and additional training.

But Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who has been designated by her party to negotiate with the Democrats, dismissed the proposal.

“Democrats’ newest proposal is a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press,” she wrote on social media. “This is NOT negotiating in good faith, and it’s NOT what the American people want.”

It’s not yet clear how the GOP’s leadership and rank-and-file members will respond to the Democratic overture. A spending deal would have to get the majority of votes in the House and the approval of 60 of the 100 Senators, as well as President Donald Trump’s signature in order to become law.

The fight over DHS funding erupted after a US citizen, Alex Pretti, was killed in a confrontation with Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis last month, weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three.

Trump has sought to pull back the immigration operation in Minneapolis after significant political blowback from members of both parties. DHS on Wednesday announced it would remove about 700 officers from the city amid efforts to deescalate tensions.

Trump in an interview with NBC broadcast earlier Wednesday said that he “wasn’t happy” with what happened on the streets of Minnesota and that he learned that “maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough.”

—With assistance from Erik Wasson.

(Updates to add Britt comment, starting in the ninth paragraph.)

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