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In West Palm Beach, Florida, the standoff between lawmakers and the White House over the supervision of federal immigration officers continues, resulting in a funding halt for the Department of Homeland Security. As of Sunday, no signs of a compromise have emerged.
The government entered a partial shutdown on Saturday, triggered by a failure to reach an agreement between congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s administration on funding the department through September. The Democrats are pushing for changes to immigration procedures following the recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis.
With Congress adjourned until February 23, both parties remain steadfast in their standpoints. This deadlock impacts several agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
While the work of ICE and CBP continues unaffected, thanks to additional funding from Trump’s 2025 tax and spending cut law, which can be used for deportation operations, about 90% of DHS employees are required to work without pay during the shutdown. This situation could lead to financial difficulties, reminiscent of last year’s record 43-day government shutdown.
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, stated that the administration is resistant to the Democrats’ demands. These include requirements for federal officers to clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations, and display unique identification numbers.
“I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said, But, he said, “These men and women have to protect themselves.”
Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and mandate judicial warrants for arrests on private property.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats are only asking for federal agents to abide by rules followed by law enforcement agencies around the country.
“And the question that Americans are asking is, ‘Why aren’t Republicans going along with these commonsense proposals?’” Schumer said. “They’re not crazy. They’re not way out. They’re what every police department in America does.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said he could back Democrats calls to equip immigration officers with body cameras and would support efforts to bolster training. But he balked at their demands that federal officers remove masks and clearly identify themselves, noting some officers taking part in immigration enforcement operations have faced doxing and other harassment.
“What are you going to do, expose their faces so you can intimidate their families?” Mullins said. “What we want is ICE to be able to do their job. And we would love for local law enforcement and for states to cooperate with us.”
Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, a Trump ally who had pushed for a two-week extension of DHS funding while negotiations continued, said it was “shortsighted of Democrats to walk away” from talks.
Trump made enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign for the White House and he promised to be aggressive in detaining and deporting people living in the United States without legal permission.
DHS reports it has deported more than 675,000 migrants since Trump’s return to office last year and claims some 2.2 million others have “self-deported” as the Republican president has made his immigration crackdown a priority.
“President Trump is not going to back away from the mission, the mission that American people said they wanted him to complete, and that is securing our border and making sure that we actually do interior enforcement,” Britt said.
Homan was on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Schumer and Mullin appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and Britt was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday.”
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