Democrats again tank bill to reopen DHS

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate failed Tuesday night to advance the Homeland Security 2026 appropriations bill that would have ended the partial government shutdown.

“Republicans want to get to an agreement on Homeland Security funding. So does the White House. And we’ve acted in good faith throughout these negotiations,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said prior to the vote. “Are Democrats actually interested in a solution here, or are they just interested in a political issue?”

But 11 days since the Department of Homeland Security ran out of funds, Democrats are still refusing to provide the money unless Republicans agree to overhaul Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. 

Calls for greater accountability in DHS erupted after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in January, the second killing during that month of a U.S. citizen protesting in Minneapolis.

Democrats’ policy demands include prohibiting DHS agents from wearing masks, racially profiling, indiscriminately arresting people, tracking protestors, or entering private property without a judicial warrant in addition to an immigration court warrant.

Other changes Democrats want to see include requiring agents to display ID, wear body cameras, and obtain the consent of states and localities to conduct large-scale operations, among other things.

The Trump administration has already agreed to some of the demands, such as requiring body-worn cameras and ending roving patrols.

But it has thrown cold water on most of the other measures, arguing that personal ID requirements would endanger agents and that requiring judicial warrants or making “sensitive” locations off-limits would handicap the agency’s ability to do its job.

This is the second time in less than six months that Democrats have forced a shutdown over policy demands, with the most recent lasting a record-long 43 days.

With no federal funding, DHS employees deemed “essential” – including TSA agents and most members of FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service – must work without pay during a shutdown, while the rest are furloughed. 

While those agencies haven’t closed, they have ceased nonessential operations. ICE, however, has felt no impact by the lapse in DHS funding.

The agency is already funded for the rest of the Trump administration regardless of annual appropriations, due to a $75 billion boost from Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill.