House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday laid out their demands for immigration enforcement reform as Congress races to avoid a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS only received two weeks of stopgap funding in the law enacted Tuesday that reopened most of the government. Now, Democrats are holding up a full-year appropriations bill until Republicans agree to immigration enforcement reforms. A full-year appropriations bill for DHS was stripped from the broader funding package by Senate Democrats after two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, laid out their demands at a press briefing on Wednesday at the Capitol, flanked by a slew of Democrats. Democrats’ demands include: mandatory body cameras; disallowing immigration officers from wearing masks; tightening restrictions around warrants and ending “roving” patrols.
“When Americans see the pictures of these goons beating people, pushing people, and even shooting and killing people, they say this is not America,” Schumer said. “It is reminiscent of dictatorship.”
Getting agreement on changes to DHS procedures in the funding bill is going to be a steep challenge for Congress. Sixty votes are needed in the Senate to pass any spending bill, meaning Democrats will be required.
