Democrats say they will not support a spending bill needed to keep the Homeland Security Department running past Feb. 13 without new restrictions on federal agents who are carrying out President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Congress had been on track to approve legislation providing $64.4 billion to fund the department as part of a spending package enacted this week to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
But the shooting death of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minnesota in late January intensified Democratic opposition to the homeland security money. Last week, Mr. Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, reached an agreement to avoid a full government shutdown by passing the rest of the spending package. But they gave the Homeland Security Department just two weeks of funding to leave time for negotiations over Democrats’ demands to attach new restrictions on immigration enforcement operations.
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have already ruled out many of the ideas Democrats have suggested, dimming the prospects of any agreement.
Democrats have said they plan to put forward a bill on Thursday codifying their proposals, which they reiterated in a letter to Republican leaders on Wednesday night.
Here are some of their core demands.
Masks off, cameras on
Democrats want to ensure accountability by requiring federal immigration agents to remove the masks they have worn during raids and to wear body cameras.
One of the defining images of the Trump administration crackdown has been of roving groups of masked agents, stopping cars, raiding homes, and, in at least one case, opening fire. While state and local police officers are typically identified by name badges, many of the agents involved in immigration raids and confronting protesters are operating in anonymity, obscuring their faces and wearing no identification.
The department says the masks are a necessary line of defense for the officers, who could face threats, intimidation, or violence if they were publicly identified. Critics say the masks are intended to prevent agents from being held accountable for their actions and to create a climate of fear on American streets.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the House minority leader, said at a news conference on Wednesday that agents had been wearing masks “in an arbitrary and capricious fashion,” which was “horrifying the American people.”
Democrats are also seeking a requirement that agents wear body cameras when interacting with the public, and rules for how they are used.
Republicans have shown some interest in compromising on cameras. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said on Monday that immigration officers had recently begun wearing them in Minneapolis and would expand their use throughout the country. Before Mr. Pretti’s death effectively torpedoed the original bipartisan spending agreement, Republicans had agreed to include $20 million in the department’s spending bill for body cameras, though the measure did not require their use.
Judicial warrants
The Homeland Security Department claims sweeping powers for immigration officers to search private homes and conduct arrests without judicial warrants. Democrats want to bring immigration operations more firmly under judicial review, in line with other law enforcement operations.
Federal immigration officers now use administrative warrants, issued by the executive branch, including when searching private homes for someone who has been issued a final deportation order. Other law enforcement agencies are generally required under the Fourth Amendment to obtain arrest and search warrants from judges.
The Homeland Security Department has argued that undocumented immigrants “aren’t entitled” to the same constitutional warrant protections that U.S. citizens are. Democratic critics argue the practice erodes constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
“Adding a whole new layer of judicial warrant requirements is an unworkable proposal,” Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday, adding that it would take “decades” for judges to issue warrants for every immigration case.
Use of force limits and greater local oversight
Democrats also are asking to enact new guardrails for the use of force by immigration agents, similar to those that exist for other law enforcement officers. And they want more local and state government oversight of immigration operations and investigations into accusations of criminal actions by federal agents.
In Minnesota, state officials have sought to investigate shootings by federal immigration agents, including Mr. Pretti’s killing. An arm of the Homeland Security Department is taking the lead in the inquiry into Mr. Pretti’s death, court papers showed.
Critics have argued that a federal investigation might not be robust or impartial, given how strongly Ms. Noem and other Trump administration officials have backed the agents involved.
Democrats said in their letter this week that state and local jurisdictions must be granted more authority to “investigate and prosecute potential crimes and use of excessive force incidents.”
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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