Cooler heads prevailed Thursday, as the Trump administration made significant concessions from Capitol Hill to Maine and Minnesota.
To avoid another prolonged government shutdown, Senate Democrats and President Donald Trump agreed to fund every agency but the Department of Homeland Security through the end of September and to pass a two-week stopgap measure so DHS can continue to operate while negotiations for reform continue.
For now, leaders on both sides appear to be negotiating in good faith around a set of demands outlined by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) that could expand oversight and rein in the worst excesses of federal immigration enforcement.
Schumer wants to require Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to wear body cameras, ban the use of masks, ensure the agency obtains judicial warrants before entering homes and end “roving patrols.” He also wants to require ICE to coordinate with state and local law enforcement, create a uniform code of conduct for agents and use independent investigations to enforce it.
Republicans promise to offer a counterproposal. During a test vote on Thursday afternoon, eight Senate Republicans joined every Democrat in voting against the DHS funding bill that passed the House last week. That reflects the depth of bipartisan backlash following the unjust killing of Alex Pretti.
The funding breakthrough came at the end of an eventful day that started with Senate Appropriations Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) announcing that ICE is ending enhanced operations in her state.
ICE officers in Minnesota were directed to pivot “to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” instead of dragnets that sweep up otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants like gardeners and housekeepers. An email written by a top ICE official also discouraged agents from engaging with “agitators” who yell at them because “it serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation,” according to Reuters. Agents were also instructed to use megaphones to “verbalize every step of the arrest process.” All of those moves meaningfully reduce the risk of confrontations turning violent.
Border czar Tom Homan, dispatched to oversee federal operations in Minneapolis, acknowledged during a news conference that ICE can do better. He said “certain improvements could and should be made” and conceded that the government had not “carried this mission out perfectly.” Homan acted like a professional when asked about Pretti. “I’m going to tell you to let the investigation play out and see where it goes,” he said. By leaning into dialogue instead of demonization, Homan has made it easier to persuade sanctuary jurisdictions to reexamine their policies.
Minnesota has its own role to play in turning down the temperature. On Thursday, Homan said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) “clarified for me that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks so ICE can take custody of them upon the release from the jail.” Ellison denied making any concessions on “detainers,” but Homan suggested an improvement in relations between the state and the feds.
Handing over criminal immigrants to ICE shouldn’t be controversial. When sanctuary jurisdictions ignore civil detainers, ICE agents are more likely to go into communities to search for targets, potentially raising the chance of collateral arrests and clashes with residents.
Trump is yielding after public opinion turned sharply against his tactics on immigration, which has traditionally been an issue core to his political strength. About 3 in 4 Americans believe it’s unacceptable for immigration officers to “use people’s appearance or the language they speak as a reason to check their immigration status,” according to a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday. Another 61 percent are against agents wearing face coverings.
By focusing on deporting true criminals, and respecting Congress’s authority to impose reasonable guardrails, immigration agencies can repair trust while continuing to do their jobs.
The post ICE tensions are melting from Maine to Minnesota to Capitol Hill appeared first on Washington Post.
