Democratic leaders laid out their demands for reform at the Department of Homeland Security in a letter to Republican leadership on Wednesday, as lawmakers race to reach a compromise before the agency's funding runs out in less than 10 days.
A funding package passed earlier this week included a two-week stopgap measure for DHS, ensuring bipartisan negotiations could continue through at least Feb. 13. Lawmakers have until that deadline to strike a deal, agree to give themselves more time, or risk another partial government shutdown.
DHS, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has come under immense scrutiny for its immigration enforcement tactics following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota last month.
Democrats have sought to rein in federal agents participating in President Trump's crackdown, a push that recent polling suggests has broad public support.
"Federal immigration agents cannot continue to cause chaos in our cities while using taxpayer money that should be used to make life more affordable for working families," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Feb. 4 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)
The Democratic leaders, who have been united on the need for changes despite differing on scope, outlined ten "guardrails" on DHS that they believe Congress should enact.
Those include an end to "indiscriminate arrests," a ban on DHS officers entering private property without a judicial warrant, expanded training requirements, and adoption of a standardized use of force policy that would remove officers from the field if an incident occurs pending an investigation.
Democrats also want agents to identify themselves, use body-worn cameras, and stop wearing masks or face coverings while conducting enforcement operations, among other restrictions.
Democrats are also insisting that DHS funds not be used to conduct enforcement near "sensitive locations," such as schools, medical facilities, places of worship, and polling places.
Johnson had signaled some openness to changes within DHS, saying on Sunday that some of the conditions and requests made by Democrats were "reasonable," but others would require more negotiation.
He voiced support for body camera requirements and banning roving patrols but balked at the no-mask and judicial warrant proposals, arguing the latter would add "a whole other layer of, effectively, bureaucracy" to immigration enforcement.
Schumer and Jeffries also noted in the letter that there are "steps that the Trump administration has the power to take right now to show good faith," including ramping down its federal presence in Minnesota and removing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her position.
"These are common sense solutions that protect constitutional rights and ensure responsible law enforcement,"
the letter concluded.