NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that Democrats would oppose a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security without more changes to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, raising the risk of a partial government shutdown starting on Saturday.
“We’re 3 days away from a DHS shutdown and Republicans have not gotten serious about negotiating a solution that reins in ICE and stops the violence,” Schumer posted on X. “Democrats will not support a CR to extend the status quo.”
Schumer’s post amounted to a threat to block funding for the department, which includes TSA agents at airports, disaster relief and many functions other than immigration. Democratic votes are needed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for most legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been appealing to Democrats to agree to extend funding for several weeks while talks continue on a compromise bill that would run through September.
Democrats and the White House have been trading offers, but Schumer on Tuesday complained they had yet to get details and legislative language from the GOP.
Among the sticking points is a Democratic push to require judicial warrants before immigration agents can enter homes and businesses as they search for unauthorized immigrants. Democrats say it’s required by the Fourth Amendment, but Republican leaders say such a move would hamper federal agents’ ability to work.
“If you put a judicial warrant in the way, it will impede the entire process. It will add layers and layers of delay,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox Business Wednesday.
One irony in the debate is that in a funding lapse, immigration enforcement activities would not cease and officers are expected to be paid using funds from the Trump tax bill.
A shutdown would be far more limited than the record-setting one last year over expiring health care subsidies because the rest of the government has been funded through September.
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