WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan spending package on Friday that temporarily extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security while negotiations continue over restraints on federal immigration agents who have sparked widespread outcry in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country.
The deal, which was negotiated by Democratic leadership and President Donald Trump, would give Congress two more weeks to hash out restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol, two agencies spearheading Trump’s controversial nationwide crackdown on immigrants. Democrats demanded key reforms to ICE and CBP after two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minnesota earlier this month.
Other parts of government would be fully funded until September under the bipartisan agreement, avoiding another prolonged government shutdown. They include the Labor Department, Health and Human Services Department, State Department, Education Department, Transportation Department, Defense Department, and Housing and Urban Development Department.
However, a temporary lapse in government funding still won’t be avoided this weekend, lasting potentially into early next week, because another vote will be required to approve the package in the House, which is expected to return on Monday. The effects of the shutdown won’t be felt as widely over the weekend since many federal workers don’t go back to work until Monday, as well.
Following the gruesome shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent last week in Minneapolis, Democrats threatened to shut the government down if key reforms weren’t put in place, including a requirement that federal agents wear body cameras and take off their masks. They are also seeking to end roving immigration patrols, institute a universal code of conduct and tighten the rules governing the use of warrants for entering homes.
Republicans maintain they are willing to support some of the Democrats’ demands, like requiring body cameras for federal agents. But getting a deal on all of Democrats’ demands will be considerably more difficult. GOP lawmakers also want to see immigration-related changes, including passing legislation aimed at cutting federal funding for “sanctuary cities” like Minneapolis.
Democrats, meanwhile, vowed to keep pushing to rein in ICE as long as needed, pointing to another funding deadline for DHS in two weeks as a key leverage point over Republicans.
“ICE is killing people in cold blood, shooting them in the back,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told HuffPost. “And the sense of outrage and repugnance, I think, has powered and fueled our momentum to win here at least a good deal of what we are seeking, which is reforming and restraining the agency.”
Passage of the funding agreement was stalled on Thursday by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who objected to a provision blocking his ability and the ability of other U.S. senators whose phone records were collected in a federal Jan. 6 investigation to claim millions of dollars in damages from the U.S. government. Graham relented on Friday after getting assurances from leadership that the Senate would hold a vote on his immigration legislation cracking down on “sanctuary” cities like Minneapolis.
Trump border czar Tom Homan, the president’s new point man in the state, told reporters on Thursday he wants to “draw down” federal officers from the state. Homan said the administration is “not surrendering our mission at all” but instead doing it “smarter.”
“No agency organization is perfect but President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made,” Homan added in a press conference.
