Shutdown nears as lawmakers brace for next round of ICE negotiations

WASHINGTON- A budget impasse in Congress is poised to shut down large swathes of federal operations early Saturday as lawmakers on Capitol Hill turn to the next flashpoint in negotiations to reopen the government: whether to impose new limits on federal immigration authorities leading President Trump’s deportation campaign.

Over the next two weeks, Democrats and Republicans will weigh their competing demands for how the Department of Homeland Security should proceed with arrests, detentions and deportations following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents this month in Minnesota.

Seeking control of the federal agency, Senate Democrats succeeded Thursday night in reaching a deal with the White House that would temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security, but fund the Pentagon, State Department, and health, education, labor and transportation agencies through September 30.

The deal aims to give lawmakers more time to respond to Democrats’ demands to rein in ICE’s tactics while avoiding a partial government shutdown.

The Senate finalized the deal Friday evening by 71 votes to 29, a few hours before midnight to avoid a government shutdown. Passage of the deal was delayed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who opposed parts of the package.

The House hoped to pass the bill as early as Monday. The partial government shutdown will take place until the measure is approved by the House and Trump signs it into law.

The president supports the deal, which came after Senate Democrats said they would not vote to fund Homeland Security unless reforms to the agency were approved. Among the demands: banning federal agents from wearing masks, requiring the use of body cameras and requiring the use of court warrants before searching homes and making arrests.

Democrats also demanded that local and state law enforcement be given the opportunity to conduct independent investigations in cases where federal agents are accused of wrongdoing.

The agreement, however, does not include any of these reforms; this only includes the promise of more time to negotiate, without any guarantee that the new restrictions will be accepted.

California’s two Democratic senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, voted against the Senate deal. In a vote Thursday, they both opposed providing more money to Homeland Security without reforms.

Schiff voted no because he said he promised not to “give another cent for ICE until we see real reforms — and not just promised reforms but statutory requirements.”

“I want to see these reforms before I’m willing to support additional funding for these agencies,” Schiff said in a video message posted on

After voting against the measure, Padilla said in a statement: “I have been clear from the beginning: more money for ICE and CBP without real oversight and accountability. »

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Friday morning that Democrats would find out if two weeks was enough to reach a compromise.

“We will evaluate whether this time frame is sufficient,” Jeffries said. “But there is an urgent need to resolve this issue because, as we have seen, ICE is out of control.”

At the same time, the lack of reforms in the Senate deal has already raised concerns among some progressives, who say the deal falls short of what is needed to curb enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“First of all, I’m actually disappointed that Senate leadership is not demanding more at this time,” Rep. Robert Garcia, a top Democrat from Long Beach, told reporters Friday. “This idea that we’re going to somehow continue to fund this agency and somehow just prolong the pain, I think is absolutely false.”

Garcia said it was “outrageous” that the Senate deal extended Homeland Security funding by two weeks without any new requirements.

“This idea that we don’t immediately demand the removal of masks and body cameras and all the other reforms while eliminating this agency that is causing harm, I think, is outrageous,” Garcia said.

Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of Pasadena said in a statement that she has not yet decided whether or not she will support the Senate deal once it reaches the House.

But Chu added: “I cannot support legislation that increases funding for this agency without providing accountability measures. »

Rep. Kevin Calvert (R-Corona) said in a statement that it is “critical” that lawmakers pass the bipartisan spending package, in part because it included funding for the U.S. military.

“As president of the [House] Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I am particularly concerned about the negative impacts of a shutdown at a time when we are seeing a buildup of U.S. military assets in the Middle East,” Calvert said.

Calvert added that Homeland Security operations would continue even during the shutdown, as lawmakers provided an influx of funds to the agency as part of last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” But he expressed concern that any funding disruption could affect other agency operations, including disaster funding and security assistance for major events, such as the upcoming World Cup.

“We need to fund these priorities,” he said.

Other Republican lawmakers have already flagged possible obstacles Democrats will face when trying to rein in ICE.

Graham delayed consideration of the Senate deal, in part because he wanted the Senate to vote to criminalize local and state officials in sanctuary cities — a term that has no strict definition but generally describes local jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“You can convince me that ICE can be better, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convince you to abandon sanctuary cities because you’re committed to them on the Democratic side,” Graham said.

Graham also delayed passage of the deal because it included repealing a law that would have allowed senators — including himself — to sue the government if federal investigators accessed their phones without informing them. The law required senators to be notified if this were to occur and to file a lawsuit for up to $50,000 in damages per incident.

“We’ll fix the $500,000 — count me in — but you deleted the notice,” Graham said. “I demand a vote in the United States Senate.”

Other Senate Republicans also expressed concern over Democrats’ demands, even as Trump appeared to be trying to appease them.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said the request for federal agents to remove their masks during operations was a “clear and obvious attempt to intimidate and put our federal agents in danger.”

“When law enforcement becomes dangerous for law enforcement officials, law enforcement does not survive,” Schmitt said during a speech on the Senate floor. “What comes out of this is not a reform, it is an amnesty by default. »

Despite opposition from the Republican Party, most Senate Republicans were poised to join Democrats on Friday and vote in favor of the deal. But there is no guarantee that they will join the minority party when negotiations resume in the coming weeks.

Recent history suggests that bipartisan support at the outset does not guarantee a lasting agreement, particularly when unresolved policy differences remain. The latest government shutdown linked to a debate over health care revealed how quickly negotiations can break down when no agreement is reached.

In November, a small group of Democrats voted with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, promising to negotiate an extension of health care tax credits that were set to expire in the new year.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a former House speaker, reminded the public Friday that Democrats were unable to gain support from Republicans to extend tax credits, which led to rising health care costs for millions of Americans.

“House Democrats passed a bipartisan solution, but Senate Republicans continue to block this crucial aid for millions of Americans,” Pelosi wrote in an article on X.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.