Democrats’ Immigration Unity Is Tested in Homeland Funding Fight

The hangover from the end of last year’s 43-day government shutdown lingers for congressional Democrats seeking to maintain unity around their demands for funding Homeland Security by the end of next week.

Seven Senate Democrats and one party-aligned independent broke from the progressive wing last year to vote with Republicans and end the longest shutdown in history. Progressives in Congress are wary of history repeating itself as lawmakers approach a Feb. 13 deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security, with just nine days to negotiate a deal on changes they’ve insisted on to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Congressional Democrats are united against ICE operations in Minnesota and in demanding changes after federal agents killed two US citizens last month. But the various red lines they’re drawing — or not drawing — preview a potential intraparty clash over whether and how much to compromise with Republicans to extract enforcement changes and avert an agency shutdown.

“There’s not a ton of faith in the Senate from many members in the House,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) told Bloomberg Government at an exclusive roundtable event Wednesday, citing the end of last year’s shutdown. Goldman called Senate Democrats’ demands, which so far have included unmasking agents and requiring them to use body cameras, “watered down.”

“It’s not that these things are not important — they’re just not getting to the root of the problem,” Goldman said, calling for a firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a prohibition on ICE seizing election materials. Other Congressional Progressive Caucus members have listed additional demands, including improved standards for immigrant detention centers.

“Both sides need to give a little bit,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a moderate who warned against drawing “red lines.” Cuellar, the top House Democrat involved in annual DHS appropriations, said Democrats should call for changes such as increased training for ICE agents and added requirements to adhere to use of force policies.

“But let’s not draw any lines,” Cuellar said, “because otherwise we’ll have a shutdown.”

Public Unity

House and Senate Democratic leaders projected unity in their negotiating positions, even after they split over a short-term continuing resolution to fund DHS through next week.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his full leadership team voted against the funding patch they said gave away Democratic leverage, even though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) helped negotiate it.

The two Brooklynite leaders held a press conference with their leadership teams and top appropriators Wednesday to jointly announce their demands and push back against GOP suggestions of Democratic disunity.

“I don’t think that there’s any daylight between House and Senate Democrats from wherever ideological corner that they come from,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (Calif.) told Bloomberg Government. “I think that we all want a reform of ICE.”

Schumer said they would share their specific proposal by Thursday and await the GOP’s response, which would jump-start more specific negotiations. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), chair of the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, said Wednesday she hadn’t heard from Senate Democrats yet but “hopefully they’ll be back in touch with me soon.”

Even if congressional Democrats march in tandem and allow a Homeland Security shutdown in mid-February over backlash to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, the pressure could grow on moderate Senate Democrats to fold if the lapse drags on — especially if Transportation Security Administration lines grow long or Federal Emergency Management Agency funds snag.

“The question always is the group of senators on the Democratic side who feel like they need to negotiate with Republicans instead of understanding that they need to negotiate with us, House Democrats,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

“The proof is going to be in the pudding of whether we get anything,” Jayapal said when asked whether she approves of Schumer’s leadership on the issue.

The Senate Democratic leader, who’s served in the post since 2021, took flack from House Democrats early last year when he voted to move forward on shutdown-averting funding legislation despite Democratic objections. Progressives also bristled at the short-term DHS stopgap he helped negotiate late last week.

Democrats are making a public push to win support for their position. A group rallied outside ICE headquarters in Washington on Tuesday to demand the firing of Noem, including Reps. Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.) and Greg Casar (Texas), who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Democrats’ concerns about ICE weren’t assuaged earlier this week when Noem announced agents in Minneapolis would wear body cameras. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said he’s “glad that they’re making that change but is very late in coming.”

Other Democrats emphasized that DHS already had funding for body cameras and questioned whether Noem would enforce the change.

Multiple congressional Democrats said Americans across the political spectrum agree with their red-line demands, such as ending agents wearing masks. A Quinnipiac poll this week found that 58% of voters believe Noem should be removed as Homeland Security secretary.

“There is strong unity, not just among Democrats in Congress, but among the American people across party lines, that we need real protections for Americans’ civil and constitutional rights,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who is up for reelection in a purple state this year.