Democrats demand reforms to Homeland Security over immigration operations

"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing the possibility it could run out of funding next week, as Democrats press for reforms to its immigration enforcement tactics. But Republican leaders on Thursday pushed back against the Democratic proposals, rejecting them as moot. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, for instance, called the demands unrealistic and unserious. This is not a blank check situation where Republicans just do agree to a list of Democrat demands, Thune said, adding that the two parties appeared to be at an impasse. We aren't anywhere close to having any sort of an agreement."

"Congress needs to pass funding legislation for the DHS by February 13, or else its programmes could be temporarily shuttered. Currently, Democrats are focused on changes to DHS's immigration operations, particularly through programmes like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But any funding shortfall stands to affect other Homeland Security functions as well, including the services offered by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which conducts security screenings at airports."

Congress faces an impasse over immigration reforms that could prevent passage of a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, with a February 13 deadline to avoid temporary program closures. Democrats are pressing for changes to immigration enforcement tactics within ICE and CBP, while Republican leaders have rejected the proposed demands as unrealistic and moot. A funding lapse would also affect FEMA and TSA operations that provide disaster response and airport security screenings. Calls for a shutdown response stem from reported abuses during immigration enforcement, including bystander video of two US citizens killed by immigration agents and footage of agents using crowd-control tactics.

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