Donald Trump met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday night to try to find a way to avoid a partial government shutdown beginning early Saturday morning.
The outline of a deal is for the Senate to take up five of the six funding bills needed to fund the government through next September, excluding funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It's possible that a separate bill that would fund DHS temporarily could be passed if enough members are agreeable.
The temporary funding would give the Democrats time to develop an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reform package that includes prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks, imposing a code of conduct, requiring body cameras, and conducting independent investigations of violations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune held a "test" vote on procedures for bringing the six funding bills to the floor. Seven Republicans joined every Democrat in defeating the procedural vote 55-45.
The compromise of splitting off DHS funding from the rest of the package remains a possibility, but faces long odds. Thune must get "unanimous consent" from all 100 senators to vote 'aye' to split the DHS bill off from the original bill.
“Republicans in Congress cannot allow this violent status quo to continue. They must work with Democrats on legislation, real legislation, strong legislation to rein ICE in,” the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday.
"Democrats are ready to pass five bipartisan funding bills in the Senate; we’re ready to pass them today. We’re ready to fund 96% of the federal government today, but the DHS bill still needs a lot of work," Schumer added.
Schumer could prove he means those words by whipping his caucus in line to vote for the unanimous consent motion Thune will offer either late Thursday or early Friday.
As far as ICE reform, Trump's border czar Tom Homan agreed that some reforms were necessary, but wants critics to take their fight to Congress.
“For the people out there don’t like what ICE is doing, if you want certain laws reformed, then take it up with Congress,” Homan said. “They’re enforcing laws enacted by Congress and signed by president. The same laws have been on the books for the last six presidents I worked for.”
Meanwhile, Homan and Trump are dialing back the pressure in Minneapolis, reducing the number of ICE agents and ending large-scale immigration enforcement actions.
President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said Thursday that his team is working on a plan to draw down the number of federal immigration enforcement agents they have in Minneapolis, pending cooperation with state and local officials. Homan’s announcement came hours after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) confirmed that large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations had ended in her state, as the White House seeks to quiet a growing backlash against immigration crackdowns following Saturday’s fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement.
Homan met with Minnesota leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday, including Gov. Tim Walz (D), Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D). He called them “good brokers” and said he had made “great progress” in particular with Ellison and local sheriffs, alluding to agreements in which ICE officers would conduct more activity in county jails.
If ICE officers are allowed "to conduct more activity in county jails," that would be a major concession on the part of Walz and Ellison.
“If we get these agreements in place, that means less agents on the street. More agents in the jail means less agents in the street. This is commonsense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here,” Homan said, later adding that he would not be “walking away” without seeing certain plans put in place.
Homan was sent to Minneapolis to conduct damage control. He was obviously under specific instructions from Trump to end the crisis. It appears that he has been successful in achieving that goal.
