Congress is racing against the clock to impose new limits on ICE agents

The House of Representatives yesterday succeeded in ending the partial government shutdown by passing five of the six remaining bills needed to fund the government until September 30, the end of the fiscal year. The agreement, reached with votes from both Republicans and Democrats, does not, however, end budget negotiations on Capitol Hill, as one of the most contentious issues remains unresolved: funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If representatives do not reach an agreement within the next 10 days on changes to the policies governing the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the two agencies responsible for detaining and deporting migrants, the DHS will run out of funding on February 14.

Lawmakers have only agreed to a two-week reprieve to allow the department to continue operating while they negotiate the terms. The allocation for DHS had to be the exception to secure support for the rest of the funding package, which provides funds for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing, Transportation, and Education. Lawmakers hardened their stance and forced the separation of DHS money from the rest of the funding package following the deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents last month in Minneapolis. The two deaths resulted from the aggressive tactics of federal agents, who shot two people protesting the brutality used in immigration arrests. The wave of citizen protests sparked by the deaths also impacted lawmakers, who demanded reforms in law enforcement.

Democratic senators are entering negotiations with several demands: they insist that officers cannot hide behind masks as they have done until now, and that they must identify themselves and wear body cameras. They are calling for an end to indiscriminate raids and for warrants to be required for arrests. They are also demanding that alleged violations be investigated independently and that “roaming patrols,” in which officers detain people they claim are in the country illegally, be banned.

“These aren’t radical demands; they’re basic standards that the American people already expect from law enforcement,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday. House Democrats unveiled a similar list of demands Tuesday, adding that immigration agents need clear guidelines on the use of force.

The negotiations are expected to be complicated. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has already stated that his party will not accept the requirement of a warrant. Administrative warrants constitute sufficient legal authority to go and arrest undocumented immigrants, Johnson said. “If someone is going to be arrested and they hide behind a locked door, what is ICE supposed to do at that point? Say, ‘Oh, a locked door!’?” he asked. Johnson stated that he didn’t know if it was true that abuses were being committed in the operations, that they would look into it in the coming days, but that administrative, not judicial, warrants should be sufficient to enter residences and arrest someone. It was recently revealed that an internal ICE memo urged agents to enter homes without a warrant.

Body cameras

The government has approved a requirement that ICE agents wear body cameras when making arrests. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that all immigration agents participating in operations in Minneapolis will be equipped with a camera, adding that as funding becomes available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. Noem’s announcement comes after President Donald Trump declared his support for body cameras.

However, many Republicans strongly oppose any restrictions on immigration agents as they conduct their operations. Representative Lisa McClain (Michigan), chair of the Republican conference, told The Washington Post that House Republicans have no intention of yielding to Democratic demands, which they consider dangerous for immigration agents, such as requiring them to show their faces during raids.

The lack of an agreement will not affect ICE operations, as the agency has a budget of $75 billion as part of the $165 billion contained in Trump’s so-called “great beautiful bill.” A funding halt for DHS, however, will affect FEMA, the agency that manages emergency relief, the Coast Guard, and the TSA (the agency in charge of airport security).

“We have the opportunity to make our voices heard in the next 10 days,” said Representative Pete Aguilar (California), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “We have a list of priorities that we want met, and we will not settle for half-measures. And if Senate Majority Leader John Thune and President Johnson are unwilling to come to the table and negotiate real reform, they will have to explain to the American people why they are shutting down government agencies,” he said, according to the Post.

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