Senate Democrats urged to demand ‘real reforms’ over ICE funding bill

The leader of Congress’s progressive caucus on Monday called for Democratic senators to demand “real reforms” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement before voting for a key spending bill, and warned that Republicans would take the blame if the standoff sparks another government shutdown.The call from Greg Casar, the Texas congressman who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, comes after the Saturday killing of US citizen Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis upset delicate negotiations in Congress intended to keep the government running beyond Friday, when the current spending authorization expires.Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has said his party will not provide the votes necessary to advance a measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), noting that it includes funding for ICE, which is among the federal agencies that has flooded Minneapolis in the weeks leading up to Pretti’s killing.However, Schumer has not outlined specific demands for the homeland security appropriations bill, only that it be given “a rewrite”. A spokesman for the Democratic leader did not respond to a request for comment.Casar said in an interview with the Guardian: “We need to make sure that Democrats negotiate hard for real reforms. That’s why I put out what I think are five non-negotiable items that everyday Americans – progressive, conservative, independent – I think could all agree on.”These include a prohibition on federal agents wearing masks, the establishment of independent investigations into killings by federal agents and for ICE and other agencies to withdraw from Minneapolis and “stop terrorizing any additional American cities”, Casar said. He also called for a prohibition on arrests and deportations of US citizens and to mass arrests, and an end to the arrest quotas federal agents have been given.“Those five are not a list of every reform that I want, but it’s a list that every American should be able to support and that we should be able to get every Senate Democrat to fight for,” Casar said.Senate Republicans have moved to put the final six bills funding the government up for a vote this week, defying Schumer’s demand that the DHS appropriations measure be considered separately. The bill funds an array of agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Transportation Security Administration, and includes $10bn for ICE, an amount less than Republicans had requested.“This afternoon, we’ll start the procedural steps that are necessary to place the bipartisan, House-passed funding bill on the floor and proceed as planned,” Ryan Wrasse, a spokesman for Senate majority leader John Thune, wrote on X Monday.“A government shutdown, even a partial one, does not serve the American people well. Hopefully Senate Democrats, who are actively engaged in conversations, can find a path forward to join us before this week’s funding deadline hits.”The House of Representatives last week approved the DHS appropriations bill by a narrow margin, alongside the five other measures that fund various departments, including defense, labor and health and human services. Any changes to the DHS bill would require the chamber to vote on it again, but it is out of session and not scheduled to return until next week – after which a shutdown will already have begun.In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning any appropriations bills will require at least some bipartisan support to clear the chamber’s 60-vote threshold for advancement. If Democrats stick to their promise and Republicans keep the DHS bill lumped with the other spending measures, it raises the prospect that a slew of departments will see funding lapse after Friday, leading to a partial government shutdown.“The only reason there’s a risk of a government shutdown is because John Thune and congressional Republicans want to take the country hostage in order to protect Trump’s deportation machine,” Casar said, noting that “there’s bipartisan compromise on every single other agency”.“I think it’s the Republicans that are in a really precarious position there, because they’re defending what happens in Minneapolis, and are willing to shut down the entire government in order to continue doing it.”Democratic congresswoman Robin Kelly has proposed impeaching Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, after federal agents earlier this month killed US citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis. There are now 145 co-sponsors of that resolution, all Democrats, with several signing on in the days since Pretti was killed.Casar, who supports impeaching Noem, said: “There’s millions of people across the country who want to honor the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. We can’t bring them back, but we can make sure that their deaths catalyze a moment that demands real change and stop to this flooding of our cities by ICE.”The progressives are the second-largest ideological caucus among House Democrats with around 100 members, though independent Bernie Sanders is their only member in the Senate. Earlier this month, the caucus adopted an official position to oppose DHS funding unless it includes specific reforms to immigration enforcement.Seven Democrats, most of whom represent swing districts, voted for the DHS funding bill in the House. On Monday, New York congressman Tom Suozzi expressed regret for supporting the measure, writing on social media: “I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis. I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that.”Last October, Democrats refused to approve new government funding unless tax credits that lowered premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans were extended. That led to the longest funding lapse in US history, which ended after 43 days when seven Democratic senators joined with Republicans to enact a new spending measure.Should funding lapse this time, it is unlikely to stop Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. A Republican staffer said that the White House would require ICE agents to continue working even after funding lapse, while the agency may also be able to draw on funding Republicans approved last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.