Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats will oppose legislation to fund multiple parts of the government – risking a partial shutdown – if the spending package includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Schumer released the statement after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old man, in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
This comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration has descended on Minneapolis ostensibly to conduct an immigration crackdown on the city’s Somali-American community, but has also led to unrest and the killing of Renee Good earlier this month.
“What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.”
Earlier in the week, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security 220-213. All but one Republican voted for the bill and seven Democrats – all of whom hailed from districts that voted for President Donald Trump–supported it.
The House and Senate have been in the process of passing appropriations bills to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. So far, only eight spending bills have passed and only bills to fund the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security and Defense have remain.
The bill – partially negotiated by Democratic Appropriations Vice Chairwoman Patty Murray – includes some provisions to hold ICE and Customs and Border Protection accountable such as $20 million for body cameras that must be worn during operations, mandatory de-escalation training and an additional $20 million for mandated independent oversight of detention facilities.
But Schumer indicated Democrats would not support a “mini-bus” bill that rolls in all four bills unless money for the Department for Homeland Security is removed.
“Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
Democrats have said that ICE already has an exorbitant amount of money after Republicans passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year. That legislation, which passed with only Republican votes, included $29.9 billion for enforcement operations and an additional $45 billion for new detention facilities.
This would not be the first time that Democrats have threatened a government shutdown.
Last year, Democrats opposed a continuing resolution to keep the government open as Congress negotiated the appropriations bills because they wanted to include an extension of the expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace.
Republicans refused, which led to Democrats opposing the bill. The ensuing government shutdown became the longest shutdown in American history. A handful of moderate Democrats later joined with Republicans to re-open the government on the pledge for a vote on the tax credits.
So far, no bipartisan agreement has been put in place to pass an extension of the tax credits.
But even Democrats who voted to reopen the government the last time said they would oppose a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
“My personal guiding principle has always been ‘agree where you can and fight where you must,’” Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada said in a statement. “And I believe this is a time when we must fight back.“
Democrats across the ideological spectrum have agreement that immigration agencies have run amok. Moderate Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, criticized the “brutal crackdown” in Minneapolis that led to “another senseless killing.”
“I cannot and will not vote to fund DHS while this administration continues these violent federal takeovers of our cities,” Warner said on X. In response, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist in the House, responded simply by saying “Thank you.”
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