US Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and several other agencies, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on US President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement.
As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands ahead of a test vote, including that officers take off their masks and identify themselves and obtain warrants for arrest. If those are not met, Democrats say they are prepared to block the wide-ranging spending bill, denying Republicans the votes they need to pass it and triggering a shutdown at midnight tonight.
However, the New York Times reported that US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and US President Donald Trump were moving closer to a deal that would include splitting off the DHS funding.
Photo: AFP
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment made early yesterday morning.
Schumer on Wednesday said that Democrats would not provide needed votes until US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is “reined in and overhauled.”
“The American people support law enforcement, they support border security, they do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,” Schumer said.
There were some signs of possible progress as the White House has appeared open to trying to strike a deal with Democrats to avert a shutdown.
The two sides were talking as of Wednesday evening, to a person familiar with the negotiations said, requesting anonymity to speak about the private talks.
One possible option discussed would be to strip the funding for the DHS from the larger bill, as Schumer has requested, and extend it for a short period to allow time for negotiations, the person said.
The rest of the bill would fund government agencies until September.
Still, with no agreement yet and 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 healthcare 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 unified this time after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.
“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,” US Senator Tina Smith said. “There has to be accountability.”
Amid the administration’s immigration crackdown, 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.
Meanwhile, a US federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in detention.
“Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully — and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries,” US District Judge John Tunheim wrote.
“At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos,” he added.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and AFP
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