Dems Demand 'Dramatic Changes' for ICE 02/05 06:14

   Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security 
Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are "dramatic changes" and 
"real accountability" for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other 
law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump's campaign 
of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are threatening to block funding for the 
Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are 
"dramatic changes" and "real accountability" for U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President 
Donald Trump's campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and 
across the country.

   Congress is discussing potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection after officers shot and killed two Minneapolis protesters in 
January. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader 
Hakeem Jeffries reiterated their party's demands Wednesday, with Schumer 
telling reporters that Congress must "rein in ICE in very serious ways, and end 
the violence."

   Democrats are "drawing a line in the sand" as Republicans need their votes 
to continue the funding, Jeffries said.

   The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should 
step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have 
rocked Minnesota and other states. But finding real agreement in such a short 
time will be difficult, if not "an impossibility," as Senate Majority Leader 
John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday.

   President Donald Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding 
for the DHS be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current 
levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for 
the federal agents. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this weekend that 
he was at the White House when Trump spoke with Schumer and that they were "on 
the path to get agreement."

   But it's unclear if the president or enough congressional Republicans will 
agree to any of the Democrats' larger demands that the officers unmask and 
identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with 
local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.

   And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be 
added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would 
require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote. South Carolina 
Sen. Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators are pushing for restrictions 
on sanctuary cities that they say don't do enough to crack down on illegal 
immigration. There's no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the 
term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation 
with federal immigration authorities.

   It's also uncertain if Democrats who are furious over the Trump 
administration's increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operations 
would be willing to compromise.

   "Republicans need to get serious," said Schumer, a New York Democrat. Late 
Wednesday, he and Jeffries sent Thune and Johnson their list of "common sense 
solutions that protect constitutional rights and ensure responsible law 
enforcement."

   A look at Democrats' demands and what Republicans are saying about them:

   Agreement on body cameras

   Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change that 
was already in the underlying homeland security spending bill. Homeland 
Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up Monday when she ordered body-worn 
cameras to be issued to every DHS officer on the ground in Minneapolis, 
including those from ICE. She said the policy would expand nationwide as 
funding becomes available.

   The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement 
agents with body-worn cameras.

   Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection from 2014 to 2017, said that most agents are "very supportive" of 
cameras because they could help exonerate officers. But he added that complex 
questions remain, including when footage should be released and when cameras 
must be activated.

   "When do you turn it on? And if you got into a problem and didn't have it 
on, are you going to be disciplined? It's really pretty complex," he said.

   Schumer said Tuesday that the body cameras "need to stay on."

   Disagreement on masking

   As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile 
shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has 
become a flashpoint. Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase 
accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and 
threats.

   "State law enforcement, local folks don't do it," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, 
the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security. "I mean, what's so 
special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?"

   But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.

   "Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being 
doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that," Johnson said on Tuesday. He 
added that if you "unmask them and you put all their identifying information on 
their uniform, they will obviously be targeted."

   Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves "as soon as 
it is practical and safe to do so," according to federal regulations. ICE 
officials insist those rules are being followed.

   Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the regulations.

   "We just see routinely that that's not happening," said Nithya Nathan 
Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

   Judicial vs. administrative warrants

   Democrats have also demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and an end to 
roving patrols of agents who are targeting people in the streets and in their 
homes. Schumer said Tuesday that they want "arrest warrants and an end to 
racial profiling."

   Most immigration arrests are carried out under administrative warrants, 
internal documents issued by immigration authorities that authorize the arrest 
of a specific person but do not permit officers to forcibly enter private homes 
or other non-public spaces without consent. Traditionally, only warrants signed 
by judges carry that authority.

   But an internal ICE memo obtained by The Associated Press last month 
authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a 
more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of 
removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections.

   Democrats have not made clear how broadly they want judicial warrants used. 
Jeffries of New York said that Democrats want to see "an end to the targeting 
of sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals."

   Johnson said Tuesday that Democrats are trying to "add an entirely new 
layer" by seeking warrants signed by a judge rather than the administrative 
warrants that are signed by the department. "We can't do that," he said.

   The speaker has said that an end to roving patrols is a potential area of 
agreement, but he did not give details.

   Code of conduct and more accountability

   Democrats have also called for a uniform code of conduct for all ICE and 
federal agents similar to that for state and local law enforcement officers.

   Federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence after 
protester Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Gov. Tim 
Walz, a Democrat, demanded that the state be allowed to take part, saying that 
it would be "very difficult for Minnesotans" to accept that an investigation 
excluding the state could be fair.

   Hoping for a miracle

   Any deal Democrats strike on the Department of Homeland Security is unlikely 
to satisfy everyone in the party. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said 
she would never support an agreement that didn't require unmasking.

   "I ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE," Pressley said. "My position has 
not changed."

   Thune, of South Dakota, has repeatedly said it's an "impossibility" to 
negotiate and pass something so complicated in two weeks. He said any talks 
should be between Democrats and Trump.

   "I don't think it's very realistic," Thune said Tuesday about finding quick 
agreement. "But there's always miracles, right?"