Democrats Push ICE Restrictions as DHS Funding Deadline Looms

Congressional Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries issued a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Leader John Thune outlining 10 restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid negotiations over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding. Proposed measures include requiring judicial warrants for property entry, verifying non-citizenship before detention, mandating body cameras and ID badges, and banning face coverings. The letter also seeks to ban operations near schools, hospitals, polling places and courts and expands training and detention standards. DHS funding expires Feb. 13, with a prior short-term extension granted to buy time for negotiations. Passage requires majority support in the House, 60 Senate votes and presidential signature. The proposals follow killings by ICE and Border Patrol in Minneapolis and renewed pressure on the administration to scale back operations there, with about 700 officers expected to be withdrawn.