WASHINGTON – The dispute over whether immigration agents should be allowed to wear masks during enforcement has become one of the biggest obstacles to keeping the Department of Homeland Security funded, forcing a partial government shutdown early Saturday.
Democrats have described the practice as undermining public trust, saying the masked agents create the appearance of a “secret police force”. Republican lawmakers, President Trump and his top advisers, meanwhile, have taken a hard line on requiring officials to remove facial piercings, insisting that doing so would expose them to harassment, threats and doxxing online.
“They want our law enforcement officers to be in great danger and put them in great danger,” Trump said at a White House event on Thursday. He also added that it will be “very difficult to agree” to the demands of the Democrats, such as exposing government officials.
Disagreements over the mask stalled negotiations as lawmakers raced to meet a deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security by midnight on Friday. Without a deal, key agency functions — from airport security to disaster relief planning — could be affected if the shutdown continues.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) rode the floor of the Senate Thursday before the partial government shutdown.
(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As with all shutdowns, the agency’s essential operations will continue to operate, Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement. But workers who perform those jobs at agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration can go without pay if the weeks are closed.
The heads of those agencies told the House Defense Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the shutdown is expected to create severe and lasting challenges.
Deputy Adm. Thomas Allan, acting deputy commander of the Coast Guard, said the shutdown would delay repairs to boats and planes, and stop paying 56,000 active and unemployed workers. Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting director of the TSA, recounted how the last government shutdown affected his staff and accelerated wait times at airports.
“We have heard reports of police officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma and getting second jobs to make a living,” he said, adding that others are still recovering from the financial impact.
Jobs within US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection – the agencies that are part of the budget conflict – are likely to be the least affected. That’s because both agencies are still up to $75 billion in funding approved last year as part of Trump’s “big, good bill.”
On Friday afternoon, it was not clear when the partial shutdown would end, as lawmakers left Washington for a security conference in Munich and progress between Democratic and White House talks remained tenuous.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about terminating the deal. “We must always protect law enforcement.”
The partial government shutdown comes at a time of widespread public outrage over the agency’s handling of immigration enforcement, including the shooting of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis.
Since the shooting, the Trump administration has tried to defuse tensions. Border policy adviser Tom Homan said Thursday the administration is ending the crackdown on immigrants in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced earlier this month that the agency will purchase and issue body cameras to federal agents. Trump also said he wants to use a “softer touch” on immigration enforcement after the murders of Good and Pretti.
But Democrats are adamant that they need changes written into the law. Among their demands, they require police officers to wear and activate body cameras, ban them from wearing masks, end the practice of “roaming” and instead require them to only carry out tasks directed at them.
“We will not support the extension of the status quo, which is a situation that allows undercover police to raid people’s homes without warrants, without patrols and oversight by independent authorities,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday.
Todd M. Lyons, the acting director of ICE, told a Senate panel Thursday that he doesn’t want to see federal agents covered in loopholes, but said he’s hesitant to close the loopholes because the threats to agents are so serious.
“I will work with this committee and any committee that will work with holding people accountable to those doxx ICE agents, because ICE agents don’t want to be hidden,” Lyons said. “They are honorable men and women, but the threats against their family are real.”
Federal immigration officials strongly support body cameras.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott told a House committee on Tuesday that he supports the increased use of body cameras, but said more money is needed to hire staff to oversee deportations.
“Support the whole program with funds so that we can be transparent and make sure that America knows what we are doing, because that trust is very important,” he said.
Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn., said that while the White House has made “oversight changes,” its actions continue to fail.
The organization, which represents 18,000 immigration attorneys, has urged Congress to reject more funding for ICE and CBP before making changes.
“The American public wants and deserves real, reasonable oversight written into law that ensures that this administration – and, frankly, any administration – will comply with the Constitution and respect the principles of due process,” Johnson said Wednesday in a call with reporters.
“Congress has a significant opportunity right now to meet that need,” he added.
Republican senators James Lankford of Oklahoma, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky spoke during a hearing Thursday about overseeing federal immigration agencies.
(Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
Until now, Democrats have maintained that they will continue to borrow money without accountability.
Two Democratic US leaders, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, were among the Senate Democrats who helped block the passage of bills on Thursday that would have avoided being shut down because they lacked accountability.
“I will not support more funding for ICE until there are new guidelines that will strengthen it in its illegal behavior,” Schiff wrote in X. “I have nothing but real changes.”
Padilla said he will say “no” until lawmakers agree that federal immigration officials must be held accountable.
“Donald Trump and the Republicans want the American people to forget about their illegal immigration, but we’re not going to do it,” Padilla said.
