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Democrats send counteroffer on immigration enforcement as DHS shutdown continues
Global News

Democrats send counteroffer on immigration enforcement as DHS shutdown continues



Democratic congressional leaders sent Republicans and the White House a counteroffer on immigration enforcement provisions they want in exchange for their votes to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Stopgap DHS funding ran out at midnight Friday, so the department is operating in a shutdown, although many of its functions are considered essential and are continuing. 

Roughly 90% of DHS employees are still working to keep homeland security operations running, but they will not be paid until Congress passes a new funding bill. 

“This has nothing to do with Republicans. This is a Democrat shutdown,” President Trump told reporters Monday. “They’re upset that the crime numbers are so good. … They’re very unhappy that there’s a movement for getting voter ID.”

Mr. Trump did not elaborate further on the state of the negotiations. 

Democrats’ counteroffer is their second proposal sent to the White House, which provided its counter to their initial 10-point list of demands last week. 


SEE ALSO: Trump’s DOJ asks appeals court to block California law forcing ICE to show name or badge number


A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said the counteroffer was sent Monday night but declined to provide details. 

Mr. Schumer said last week that he would not negotiate in public, and Republicans and the White House have held the same posture. 

Democrats publicly shared their initial 10 demands, but neither side has shared details of the counteroffers. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Democrats’ latest offer. 

Democrats say their goal is to “rein in” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens and many other violent encounters captured on video. 

The minority party’s initial asks included forcing ICE to end “indiscriminate” arrests; requiring its agents to wear body cameras and identification but no masks; obtaining judicial warrants to make arrests on private property; and limiting the public spaces where it conducts enforcement to exclude areas near schools, courts, medical facilities and other “sensitive” locations.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, suggested in an interview with PBS NewsHour on Monday that most of those demands still stand. 

“There are several things, common sense, strong proposals that we’ve put on the table that, to date, Republicans have rejected, including a requirement that judicial warrants be obtained before ICE agents can storm the homes of the American people or private property,” he said.  

Republicans have insisted that ICE be allowed to continue to make arrests based on administrative warrants, arguing that adding a judicial warrant requirement would be a burdensome requirement that could stall deportation efforts. 

Mr. Jeffries said Democrats also want ICE agents to get more training, “have an excessive use of force policy that they adhere to, and that they shouldn’t be able to target sensitive locations like schools and hospitals, houses of worship and polling sites.” 

White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that ICE and CBP already have use-of-force guidelines that instruct agents to use the minimum force necessary to effectuate an arrest.

“In any instance where there has been allegations of misconduct or working outside the policy, it has been referred to internal affairs,” he said. 

Democrats have said they do not trust DHS to investigate itself.

“There should be independent investigations whenever it is the case that ICE agents or CBP agents break state and local law,” Mr. Jeffries said.

Another point of contention in the negotiations has been whether ICE and CBP agents should be allowed to wear masks. 

“The Americans are tired of masked agents conducting warrantless operations in their communities — secret police,” Mr. Schumer told reporters last week. “They’re tired of chaos, secrecy and zero accountability.”

Mr. Homan, in a separate Sunday appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said officers wear placards identifying which agency they work for and that the masks have been used for safety reasons. 

“I don’t like the masks either, but because threats against ICE officers are up over 1,500%, actual assaults and threats are up over 8,000%, these men and women have to protect themselves,” he said. 

Mr. Homan said it will be up to Congress and the White House to “fight that out,” along with other issues, as he is not directly involved in the negotiations. But he did suggest lawmakers discuss passing legislation to make it illegal to dox agents.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, told reporters last week that there could be a compromise on masks “if there’s contingencies there based on whether or not local law enforcement or local officials are working with [DHS] to ensure that these folks aren’t being doxed.”

Although Mr. Thune did not detail the counteroffer Republicans provided to Democrats last week, he said that “the White House has moved a good long way from where they started.”



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