(West Palm Beach) Members of Congress and the White House showed no sign of compromise Sunday in the standoff over control of federal immigration agents.
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The dispute led to a defunding of the Department of Homeland Security.
A partial shutdown of the U.S. government began Saturday after Democrats in Congress and the Trump administration failed to reach agreement on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted following the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Congress is on recess until February 23 and both parties appear to be stuck on their positions. The standoff affects agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CPB).
Despite this, the work of ICE and CBP continues unabated, as the Tax and Spending Cuts Act of 2025 granted billions of additional dollars to these agencies, which can be used for deportations. About 90% of Department of Homeland Security employees were expected to continue working during the shutdown, but without pay, which could lead to financial hardship. Last year, a government shutdown extended for a record 43 days.
Tom Homan, White House border affairs official, said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats’ demands that federal agents clearly identify themselves, remove their masks during operations and display unique identification numbers.
“I don’t like masks either,” Mr. Homan said, “but these men and women need to protect themselves.”
Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and require court warrants for arrests on private property.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said his troops were simply asking federal agents to follow the rules followed by law enforcement across the country.
“And the question Americans are asking is: ‘Why aren’t Republicans acting on these common-sense proposals?’” Mr. Schumer said. They are not far-fetched. They are not exaggerated. They correspond to what all American police departments do. »
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin mentioned he might support Democrats’ demands to equip immigration agents with body cameras and would support efforts to increase training. However, he opposed their demands regarding the removal of masks and the identification of agents. He stressed that they had been victims of harassment.
“What do you want to do, expose their faces to intimidate their families?” Mullins asked. What we want is for ICE to be able to do its job. And we would like local law enforcement and states to cooperate with us. »
Republican Senator Katie Britt, a Trump ally who had advocated for a two-week extension of DHS funding while negotiations continued, said it was “unwise for Democrats to walk away” from the negotiations.
Trump has made enforcing the nation’s immigration laws a central plank of his campaign for the White House in 2024 and has promised to be aggressive in detaining and deporting people living in the United States without legal authorization.
The Department of Homeland Security reports having expelled more than 675,000 migrants since Mr. Trump returned to office last year and says some 2.2 million others have “self-expelled” as the Republican president has made cracking down on immigration a priority.
