Democrats Reject White House ICE Plan as DHS Funding Deadline Nears

Overview

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the White House draft “incomplete and insufficient,” saying it lacked details and legislative language and warning they will block DHS funding without changes.
• Top officials from ICE, CBP, and USCIS defended enforcement policies in a House hearing as lawmakers in both parties condemned the Minneapolis killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
• Democrats pressed for reforms that include judicial warrants for certain arrests, visible identification with no masks, body-worn cameras, stricter use-of-force rules, and measures to prevent racial profiling.
• Reuters reported ICE tracked protesters’ names in an internal database, a claim ICE chief Todd Lyons denied during testimony as DHS said it keeps no database of U.S. “domestic terrorists” but monitors threats.
• The White House has not released its draft publicly and says it will discuss some Democratic demands while calling others unacceptable, with a Feb. 13 deadline raising the risk of partial DHS disruptions without an agreement.