A vote for short-term DHS funding bill would give the party time to negotiate reforms on immigration operations
Senate Democrats are considering a deal that would head off a partial government shutdown and give the party time to negotiate new restrictions on immigration operations in response to the killings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.
The talks, confirmed to the Guardian by a Senate aide, come after Senate Democrats demanded a series of reforms on federal agents involved in Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, including a prohibition on wearing masks, the imposition of a code of conduct and independent investigations of violations.
Their ultimatum collided with delicate negotiations in the Senate on passing six spending bills – one of which funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – to prevent a partial government shutdown from beginning after Friday.
While talks remain fluid, the aide said the potential deal would see Democrats vote for a short-term funding measure for DHS that would give the party time to negotiate over their proposed reforms, along with passage of the five other bills that authorize through September spending by departments including labor, defense and health and human services.
