Lawmakers and the White House on Sunday offered no signs of compromise in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A partial government shutdown began on Saturday after congressional Democrats and US President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September.
Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month.
Photo: Reuters
Congress is on recess until Monday next week, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the US Transportation Security Administration, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, the US Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CPB).
The work at ICE and CBP goes on unabated because Trump’s tax and spending cut law from last year provided billions more to those agencies that can be tapped for deportation operations. About 90 percent of DHS employees were to continue working during the shutdown, but do so without pay — and missed paychecks could mean financial hardships.
Last year there was a record 43-day government shutdown.
White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats’ demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique identification numbers.
“I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said, adding that “these men and women have to protect themselves.”
Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and mandate judicial warrants for arrests on private property.
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats are only asking for federal agents to abide by rules followed by law enforcement agencies around the country.
“And the question that Americans are asking is ‘Why aren’t Republicans going along with these commonsense proposals?’” Schumer said. “They’re not crazy. They’re not way out. They’re what every police department in America does.”
US Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican, said he could back Democrats calls to equip immigration officers with body cameras and would support efforts to bolster training, but balked at demands that federal officers remove masks and clearly identify themselves, saying that some officers taking part in immigration enforcement operations have faced doxxing and other harassment.
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