Senate Democrats unveiled their list of demands Wednesday to reform ICE operations, setting up a near-certain partial government shutdown this weekend as the two parties remain miles apart on how to handle an immigration enforcement operation that has killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis this month.
The demands are straightforward, the politics are not. And here’s the uncomfortable irony Democrats are grappling with: even if they succeed in shutting down the government, ICE operations would continue virtually unimpeded thanks to $75 billion in funding Republicans gave the agency last year.
What Democrats Are Demanding
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that his caucus is unified behind three core requirements for any Department of Homeland Security funding bill. The first: end the “roving patrols” terrorizing communities, tighten rules governing warrants, and require ICE to coordinate with state and local law enforcement before conducting operations. The second: establish a uniform, enforceable code of conduct for federal agents with real accountability when violations occur. Third, and perhaps most visceral: “masks off, body cameras on,” requiring agents to properly identify themselves as other law enforcement officers are required to do.
“These are common-sense reforms, ones that Americans know and expect from law enforcement,” Schumer said at a press conference. “If Republicans refuse to support them, they are choosing chaos over order, plain and simple.”
The demands came after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis on Saturday. That shooting followed the killing of Renee Good, a mother of three who was shot by an ICE officer in her car earlier this month. Both victims were American citizens. Both shootings occurred during the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The Math Doesn’t Work (For Anyone)
Senate Republicans hold 53 seats, but the funding package needs 60 votes to advance. That means Majority Leader John Thune needs at least seven Democrats, probably eight if Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) maintains his streak of voting against appropriations bills. As of Wednesday, no Democrats have indicated they’ll break ranks.
The problem for Republicans: they bundled DHS funding with five other appropriations bills covering Defense ($831 billion), State, Treasury, Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. Stripping out DHS would require House approval, and the House is on recess until February 2. Speaker Mike Johnson shows no indication he’ll call members back early.
The problem for Democrats: even if they force a shutdown, it won’t stop ICE. Last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” gave ICE $75 billion and CBP $65 billion in advance funding. As Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) acknowledged, “ICE would be able to sustain regular operations for multiple years” during any funding lapse.
So what would actually shut down? FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard, along with the State Department, HUD, and other agencies. Their employees would be required to work without pay. The Smithsonian and national parks would stay open (funded through already-passed Interior appropriations), but major swaths of the federal government would grind to a halt.
The White House Response (Or Lack Thereof)
Thune has insisted Democrats need to take their concerns directly to the White House and negotiate through the administration. “We can have conversations about what additional oversight is required, what additional laws we should consider, but not at the expense of shutting down the government,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
But Schumer and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee overseeing DHS spending, say administrative promises aren’t good enough. “The public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own,” Schumer said. Any real reforms, they argue, need to be codified in legislation.
The White House, for its part, has not engaged seriously in negotiations. According to Fox News, the administration claimed Democrats “blocked” a deal-making session, though the specifics remain murky. What’s clear is that President Trump has shown no appetite for constraining the immigration enforcement operations that have become a signature of his second term.
Coming Off a 43-Day Shutdown
This isn’t the first funding crisis of the Trump administration. Just this fall, the government endured a record 43-day shutdown as Democrats withheld votes to extend expiring health insurance subsidies. That fight ended with a handful of Democrats breaking ranks and joining Republicans to reopen the government in exchange for a vote on the subsidies, which ultimately failed in December.
Some of those same Democrats who broke ranks then say they won’t do it this time. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who opposed her party’s previous shutdown strategy, is now firmly in the “no” camp on DHS funding. “The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” she said. “They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement.”
Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both Arizona Democrats who represent a border state, are also opposed. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) put it bluntly: “I am voting against any funding for DHS until and unless more controls are put in place to hold ICE accountable.”
The Symbolic Fight That Could Have Real Consequences
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: Democrats are threatening a shutdown that won’t stop the thing they want stopped. ICE operations will continue regardless of what happens Friday at midnight. The agents conducting raids in Minneapolis will still be funded, still be deployed, and still be operating under whatever rules (or lack thereof) currently govern their behavior.
What a shutdown would do is force a conversation, create leverage, and demonstrate that Democrats are willing to fight on this issue. It would also, potentially, harm a lot of people who have nothing to do with immigration enforcement, from TSA workers to FEMA responders to Coast Guard personnel.
Murphy insists the reforms Democrats seek are achievable. “None of this is revolutionary,” he said. “None of this requires a new comprehensive piece of legislation.” The question is whether Republicans and the White House will accept any constraints on an immigration enforcement apparatus that has become central to Trump’s political identity.
Thursday’s procedural vote will tell us whether there’s any room for negotiation. If Democrats hold together and block the package, the countdown to shutdown begins. Six of twelve appropriations bills have already passed, funding agencies like the Justice Department, Commerce, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs. But the remaining six, representing nearly 80% of discretionary spending, remain in limbo.
The deadline is midnight Friday. The House is on vacation. And ICE keeps operating no matter what.