WASHINGTON — In a crucial move to prevent a partial government shutdown, Democrats and the White House reached an agreement on Thursday to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security. This deal allows for further discussion on implementing new limitations on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement strategies.

Amid the national unrest triggered by the fatalities of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, both parties have decided to separate the funding for homeland security from a broader spending package. This temporary funding, set for two weeks, will enable lawmakers to deliberate over Democratic proposals to impose restrictions on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. This agreement follows a Democratic-led effort to block a DHS funding bill earlier that day.

President Trump took to social media on Thursday evening to express optimism about the bipartisan agreement, stating, “Republicans and Democrats have come together to get the vast majority of the government funded until September.” He urged lawmakers from both sides to support the measure with a “much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ vote.”

The Democrats, who initiated the request for a two-week extension, have signaled their willingness to halt the passage of the comprehensive spending bill if their conditions are not satisfied. Such an action could deprive Republicans of the necessary votes to pass the legislation, potentially leading to a government shutdown.

The Senate is expected to vote on the agreement as early as Thursday evening. While Republican leaders initially sought a longer extension for Homeland Security funding, they are currently conferring with their members to ensure there are no objections, allowing for a swift passage of the deal.

In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had been “vehemently opposed” to breaking up the funding package, but “if it is broken up, we will have to move it as quickly as possible. We can’t have the government shut down.”

Rare bipartisan talks

The rare bipartisan talks between Trump and his frequent adversary, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, came after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend and calls by senators in both parties for a full investigation. Schumer called it “a moment of truth.”

“The American people support law enforcement. They support border security. They do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,” Schumer said.

The standoff has threatened to plunge the country into another shutdown, just two months after Democrats blocked a spending bill over expiring federal health care subsidies. That dispute closed the government for 43 days as Republicans refused to negotiate.

That shutdown ended when a small group of moderate Democrats broke away to strike a deal with Republicans, but Democrats are more unified this time after the fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.

Democrats lay out demands

Democrats have laid out several demands, asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities and coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, including requiring tighter rules for warrants.

They also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules. Schumer said agents should be required to have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in most law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic caucus is united in those “common sense reforms,” and the burden is on Republicans to accept them, Schumer said.

“Boil it all down, what we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does,” said Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. “There has to be accountability.”

Earlier on Thursday, Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, stated during a press conference in Minneapolis that federal immigration officials are developing a plan to reduce the number of agents in Minnesota, but this would depend on cooperation from state authorities.

Still far apart on policy

Negotiations down the road on a final agreement on the Homeland Security bill are likely to be difficult.

Democrats want Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown to end. “If the Trump administration resists reforms, we shut down the agency,” said Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

“We need to take a stand,” he said.

But Republicans are unlikely to agree to all of the Democrats’ demands.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he is opposed to requiring immigration enforcement officers to show their faces, even as he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for decisions that he said are “tarnishing” the agency’s reputation.

“You know, there’s a lot of vicious people out there, and they’ll take a picture of your face, and the next thing you know, your children or your wife or your husband are being threatened at home,” Tillis said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said some of the Democratic proposals “make sense,” such as better training and body cameras. Still, he said he was putting his Senate colleagues “on notice” that if Democrats try to make changes to the funding bill, he would insist on new language preventing local governments from resisting the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“I think the best legislative solution for our country would be to adopt some of these reforms to ICE and Border Patrol,” Graham posted on X, but also end so-called “sanctuary city” policies.

Uncertainty in the House

Across the Capitol, House Republicans have said they do not want any changes to the bill they passed last week. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the Republican president and ICE.

“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” they wrote.

Speaker Johnson appeared open to the changes, albeit reluctantly, and told the AP he would want to approve the bills “as quickly as possible” once the Senate acts.

“The American people will be hanging in the balance over this,” Johnson said. “A shutdown doesn’t help anybody.”

On Thursday evening, at a premiere of a movie about first lady Melania Trump at the Kennedy Center, Johnson said he would have some “tough decisions” to make about when to bring the House back to Washington to approve the bills separated by the Senate, if they pass.

“We’ll see what they do,” Johnson said.

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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Joey Cappelletti, Michelle L. Price and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.