Lawmakers turn focus to reform Trump's ICE
Body cams, end to "roving patrols' on table
By: Zachary Schermele
USA Today
WASHINGTON - The latest government shutdown is over, and Capitol Hill is already bracing for another high-profile brawl over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts that could land one federal agency with a shutdown all its own.
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As Trump signed legislation February 3 [2026] to end the partial funding lapse, all eyes in Congress turned toward ongoing negotiations to reform the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of Alex Pretti's killing last month [01/2026] in Minnesota.
..... In hopes of quickly slapping more guardrails on ICE and Border Patrol, Democrats initially pushed for a tight turnaround on talks with the GOP and Trump administration. But Republicans are casting doubt on whether fast-tracking the negotiations will be feasible.
..... Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said before the shutdown needed that the timeline for solving bipartisan concerns with DHS's recent operations was "way too short to allow anything consequential to happen."
..... "Intimately, that's going to be a conversation between the president of the United States and the Democrats here in the Senate," he told reporters on February 3. [2026]
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But widespread backlash to the fatal shootings last month [01/2026] of two Minnesotans by federal agents during an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis enraged the Demo certs. base, angered the gun-lobby and prompted unusually harsh criticism of the Trump administration from congressional Republicans.
..... Those dynamics gave Democrats a rate upper hand, even though they chanced another prolonged shutdown to play it.
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Lawmakers now have until February 13 [2026] to figure out a path forward or risk a funding lapse for just the Department of Homeland Security. That scenario will put Democrats in an awkward position, since ICE will continue operating while other important government functions that Americans rely on, including the Transpiration and Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard, experience lapsed paychecks for tier staff and other disruptions.
..... Congress approved $75 billion for ICE over the next several years under the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that President Trumps signed into law last summer. [2025]
..... Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said as long as Republicans negotiate in good faith, "We can get it done." Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, will lead the discussion with her Democratic counterparts.
..... senate Democrats have a list of three main demands for reforming immigration enforcement" An end to sweeping immigration checks known as "roving patrols"; more countability for ICE and Border Patrol, including independent investigations and stricter use-of-force standards; and a prohibition on federal officials wearing masks, along with body camera requirements.
..... On February 2, [2026] Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered her officers in the filed in Minneapolis to begin wearing body cameras immediately.
..... But House Speaker Mike Johanson, R-Louisiana, has ruled out any proposal that forces federal agents to remove their masks en masses. Doing so, he argued, would jeopardize officers' safety.
..... Senator Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said he won't vote for any DHS funding bill unless it includes "radical; changes."
..... "I hear Johnson say things like he wouldn't even consider doing what every other law enforcement agency in Mercia does, which is not masking," he said. "that's not something that they're even willing to entertain."