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Washington — The Senate is acceptable to ballot Thursday connected funding for the Department of Homeland Security, facing an end-of-week deadline to debar different partial authorities shutdown. But a woody that Democrats and Republicans person sought to betterment the administration's migration enforcement cognition has remained elusive.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol, is acceptable to lapse astatine 12 a.m. Saturday. And though Democrats and the White House person traded proposals successful caller days, the standoff appears improbable to travel to an extremity successful the adjacent future.
The White House sent a legislative connection to money DHS precocious Wednesday, days aft Democrats sent their ain draught bill. Democratic leaders were speedy to disregard an earlier mentation of the counterproposal from the White House this week, calling it "incomplete and insufficient." At the time, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, some New York Democrats, noted they "await further item and text."
Last week, successful a letter to their GOP counterparts, Democratic enactment laid out a database of their demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is overseen by DHS. Since 37-year-old Alex Pretti was changeable and killed by migration agents successful Minneapolis past month, legislature Democrats person demanded changes to ICE successful speech for their votes to money DHS.
Democrats privation to restrict migration agents from wearing masks, necessitate them to deterioration recognition and assemblage cameras and standardize their uniforms and equipment. They besides privation to prohibition radical profiling, necessitate judicial warrants to participate backstage spot and barroom migration enforcement astatine aesculapian facilities, schools, kid attraction facilities, churches, polling places and courts. And they pushed to enforce "reasonable" use-of-force standards, let authorities and section jurisdictions to analyse and prosecute "excessive force" and present safeguards into the detention system.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said astatine a quality league this week that "there person been good-faith efforts" toward an statement connected however to money DHS. But helium acknowledged they'll apt request much clip than the existent backing hold allows.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a quality league astatine the U.S. Capitol successful Washington, D.C., connected Feb. 10, 2026.
Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images
"I deliberation it's important that we let those conversations to spell guardant and spot if determination mightiness beryllium a way toward getting an result that would money the Department of Homeland Security," Thune said. "It's a enactment successful progress, but I would anticipation that the Democrats present successful the Senate, if it takes much clip — which I judge it volition — would beryllium amenable to allowing america to get an hold of the continuing solution to let much clip for those negotiations to continue."
But Schumer said in a station connected X connected Wednesday greeting that Democrats volition not enactment a continuing solution "to widen the presumption quo."
"We're 3 days distant from a DHS shutdown and Republicans person not gotten superior astir negotiating a solution that reins successful ICE and stops the violence," Schumer said.
Thune began teeing up information of a House-passed DHS backing measure earlier this week, which the enclosure is expected to statesman voting connected Thursday afternoon. Without enactment from Democrats, the measurement would beryllium incapable to determination forward, astatine which constituent GOP leaders whitethorn connection different short-term measurement to support DHS funded.
Asked astir Democrats' absorption to a stopgap backing measurement connected Wednesday, Thune said "hopefully they'll enactment astatine the table."
"As soon arsenic we tin onslaught a deal, we'll ballot connected it," Thune said. "But until past I don't cognize if there's immoderate constituent successful keeping radical astir present sitting astir doing nothing."
Both chambers are scheduled to beryllium connected recess adjacent week. Thune said helium told senators to stay flexible heading into the weekend.
Along with backing for the migration enforcement agencies, DHS besides oversees the Coast Guard, FEMA and TSA, among different agencies and programs that could beryllium impacted by a lapse successful funding. Because ICE and CBP received an influx of funds successful past year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, their operations would continue.
Alternate avenues to o.k. immoderate backing appeared to beryllium disconnected the table. GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, who is portion of negotiations, closed the doorway connected immoderate proposals that abstracted backing for migration enforcement agencies from the larger DHS bill. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the apical Democrat connected the House Appropriations Committee, introduced a measure Wednesday to supply full-year backing for DHS operations unrelated to immigration.
But Britt called this connection "unserious."
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said helium told members to hole for votes successful the little enclosure connected Friday connected immoderate authorities that comes from the Senate. The House was scheduled to statesman its recess aft Thursday's votes.
"I'm hopeful that either they volition walk the House mentation of the bill, oregon they're going to get a [continuing resolution] to america and that we'll ballot connected it connected Friday. That's my expectation," Johnson told reporters Wednesday.
The impasse implicit DHS backing led to a four-day-long partial authorities shutdown earlier this month. Lawmakers yet agreed to money each authorities bureau but DHS until the extremity of the fiscal year, portion extending DHS backing for 2 weeks to bargain them much clip to negociate connected reforms to migration enforcement.
Jaala Brown, Nikole Killion and Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.
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