Congress ends government shutdown, but battle over DHS and ICE funding remains

“Taxpayer dollars should be spent making life more affordable for everyday Americans, not brutalizing and killing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrant families,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion funding package on Tuesday that ended a four-day government shutdown amid pushback against funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Senate-revised legislation, which funds DHS for just 10 days, was approved in the House by a bipartisan vote of 217-214. President Donald Trump is expected to promptly sign the bill into law.

Despite the government’s quick reopening, funding for DHS remains uncertain as Republicans and Democrats work on a deal. Many Democrats refuse to approve months of additional cash for DHS until there is an agreement to implement reforms to ICE and border patrol officers amid Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and other cities across the country.

The reputation of DHS and ICE came to a head this month after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents, which the president and Trump officials swiftly defended. However, public trust in ICE is waning, as a majority of Americans say Trump’s violent ICE operations have gone too far, according to public polling.

“The Trump administration has gone too far, ICE is completely out of control and the American people know it. Taxpayer dollars should be spent making life more affordable for everyday Americans, not brutalizing and killing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrant families,” said U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader.

The House’s top Democrat said his party is united in compelling Congress to require “substantial reform” for the Department of Homeland Security and its law enforcement agencies, including ICE.

“Dramatic changes such as a mask ban, judicial warrant requirement, independent investigations when agents break the law, use of force protocols, mandatory body cameras, and an end to the targeting of sensitive locations, like houses of worship, schools, and hospitals, must be part of any full-year appropriations bill,” said Jeffries.

“Americans from every corner of the country are demanding accountability and an end to the lawless, paramilitary tactics that ICE is using in our communities.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that any reforms agreed upon by Republicans will ultimately be decided by the president. The Trump spokesperson pointed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s announcement that agents in Minneapolis would wear bodycams as a potential long-term reform. However, Leavitt slammed Democrats for choosing to “demonize” ICE and DHS officers.

“I don’t recall that same language being used when President [Barack] Obama was in the White House and was supporting millions of illegal aliens from our country using this very same agency and these very same agents who, by the way, have jobs because of the laws that were passed by Congress,” said Leavitt.

Despite the Trump official’s comments about the Obama administration, Trump’s violent ICE operations, which have included an infant being tear-gassed and citizens being racially profiled on the streets, have no precedent in the United States.

While Democrats and Republicans head into budget negotiations to fund DHS through September, several Democrats say reforms aren’t enough and are demanding that ICE be abolished and that Secretary Noem be impeached for her handling of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“No organization—no agency within our own government—should impose upon our civil rights, impose upon our communities, or operate as a terrorist organization in our own streets,” U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., said at a rally outside of ICE headquarters demanding Noem’s termination.

“This is not just about your country of origin, your race, or your religion. What we know, what I have learned, especially as a Black woman in America, is that if they come for one of us, they will come for the person next to you,” said Lee. “If we allow anyone to trample our civil rights and erode due process, it is only a matter of time before they come for you, too.”