Democrats are refusing to provide votes for a newly brokered deal to fund the partially shut down Department of Homeland Security over lack of ICE reforms — even though the agency is left out of the funding deal.
The plan, negotiated by a group of Senate Republicans in the Oval Office on Monday, will fund 94% of DHS immediately and would address Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) later in a reconciliation bill, Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday. Democrats are wary of the brewing deal to fund every other portion of the department, with many members of the party claiming they will only support it if they secure their long-demanded reforms to the lone agency excluded from the funding bill.
The deal sent to Senate Democrats Tuesday morning would not fund ICE removal operations (ERO) but would fund Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This would give Democrats more time to negotiate reforms surrounding ICE and use-of-force policies — one of their biggest reform asks within the agency — during the month-long budget reconciliation process.
The funding proposal also includes other Democratic-backed reforms, including additional funding for body cameras.
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