Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Republicans blinked in showdown over ICE funding - but will anything change in the near future?

The House of Representatives voted to reopen major parts of the U.S. government Tuesday afternoon, setting up a major fight between the White House and Senate Democrats to enact changes to the way the federal government is conducting immigration enforcement.

The House voted 217-214 to pass legislation the Senate passed last week, with 21 Republicans voting against it, but 21 Democrats voting for it.

The legislation would fund many of the other government departments for the rest of the fiscal year, but it would only fund the Department of Homeland Security – which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection – for two weeks.

Democrats hope to use this two-week span to negotiate changes to the way ICE and CBP conduct themselves after ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good and CBP officials shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month.

Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota told The Independent that her brother-in-law, was racially profiled by ICE officials because he is Latino.

“Until that kind of s***stops, I won't vote for a damn penny,” she said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made his demands last week, saying that he wanted to end roving patrols throughout American cities, a removal of masks for ICE and CBP agents, require ICE to obtain a judicial warrant to search into people's homes, and body cameras for agents.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson does not seem eager to adopt these proposals, particularly masks.

“Because unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxxed and targeted,” Johnson told Inside Washington.

Of course, the only person who matters here is Trump. Republicans are putting a lot of faith in him that he will either come up with a proposal they find acceptable that doesn't curtail ICE too much or that he will walk away from the deal altogether.

And as Inside Washington's John Bowden flagged, this negotiation will also be a crucible for Schumer, whom many Democrats in the House and Senate doubt can stay in his job. 

Read more here:

By Eric Garcia

Reading list

Daily briefing

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

The system sucks, this job sucks, I am trying with every breath I have to get you what I need.

Department of Justice attorney Julie Le to a federal judge who wanted to find out why ICE is failing to comply with court orders.

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