Partial government shutdown continues amid immigration control battle

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to defunding of the Department of Homeland Security.

The partial government shutdown began Saturday after Democrats in Congress and President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach an agreement on legislation to fund the department until September. Democrats are demanding changes in how immigration processes are conducted after the killing of US citizens Alex Peretti and Renee Judd by federal officers in Minneapolis last month.

Congress is in recess until February 23, and both sides appear to be sticking to their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Read more: How the Department of Homeland Security shutdown affects travel in the United States

ICE and CBP’s work continues unabated because Trump’s tax and spending cuts starting in 2025 provided billions more to those agencies that could be tapped for deportations. About 90% of DHS employees were scheduled to continue working during the shutdown, but they are doing so without pay — and not paying salaries could mean financial hardship. Last year, there was a record government shutdown that lasted 43 days.

White House border official Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democratic demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique identification numbers.

“I don’t like masks either,” Homan said, but said, “These men and women need to protect themselves.”

Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body cameras and issue warrants for arrests on private property.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats are just asking federal agents to abide by the rules followed by law enforcement agencies across the country.

Schumer said: “The question Americans are asking is: Why do Republicans not agree to these logical proposals?” “They’re not crazy. They don’t have a way out. They’re what every police department in America does.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullen, R-Oklahoma, said he could support Democrats’ calls to equip immigration officers with body cameras and would support efforts to boost training. But he rejected their demands that federal officers remove masks and clearly identify themselves, noting that some officers involved in immigration enforcement operations have faced harassment and other harassment.

“What are you going to do, reveal their faces so you can scare their families?” Mullins said. “What we want is for ICE to be able to do its job. We would like state and local law enforcement to cooperate with us.”

Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, a Trump ally who pushed for a two-week extension of DHS funding while negotiations continued, said it was “shortsighted for Democrats to walk away” from the talks.

Trump has made enforcing the country’s immigration laws a centerpiece of his campaign to reach the White House in 2024, and has promised to be aggressive in detaining and deporting people living in the United States without legal permission.

The Department of Homeland Security reports it has deported more than 675,000 immigrants since Trump returned to office last year, and claims about 2.2 million more have “deported themselves” as the Republican president has made his campaign against immigration a priority.

“President Trump is not going to back down from the mission, the mission that the American people have said they want him to complete, which is to secure our borders and make sure that we actually enforce domestic law,” Britt said.

Homan was on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Schumer and Mullen appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Britt was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday.”