US Politics
White House offers limitations on ICE raids in ‘sensitive areas’ and more body cams as it works to get Homeland Security funded
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The White House has offered to expand the use of body cameras by Department of Homeland Security officers and limit ICE raids in “sensitive locations,” in a desperate bid to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
The DHS shutdown began February 14, and in the weeks since, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have traded counter-offers to try and reach a deal on funding for the agency.
Democrats have asked Republicans to agree with accountability measures for immigration enforcement officers after Americans Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were killed by agents during separate operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota earlier this year.
White House Border Czar and DHS Legislative Director James Braid said the administration took steps to meet Democrats’ demands, according to a letter sent Tuesday to Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In the letter, the White House agreed to implement some reforms, including increasing the use of body cameras by federal immigration agents.
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The administration said it would also agree to limit enforcement in certain “sensitive locations,” including hospitals and schools. It also said that it would increase oversight of DHS detention facilities and create mandatory reviews and compliance audits with the DHS inspector general.
The administration said it would enforce the “use of visible officer identification” during operations and require officers to identify themselves and their agency when requested.
However, undercover officers would be exempt from the body camera and identification requirements, according to the letter.
“We feel that this offer is serious — that it is a good faith attempt to continue to try to come to a reasonable and expeditious conclusion to the shutdown, which we are now seeing is becoming ever more disruptive on Americans’ travel plans, as well as the security mission at the department,” a senior White House official told Politico.
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The White House did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
However, Republicans have not budged on Democrats’ other demands, which include a ban on agents wearing face masks and coverings and requiring a judicial warrant before officers can enter private property.
“They haven’t budged on those,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “They’ve got to get serious.”
The White House and top Democrats in Congress have traded multiple offers to free up DHS funding, with each side blaming the other for the shutdown, which has been at an impasse now for weeks.
As a result, thousands of TSA employees, which falls under DHS, missed their first full paycheck last week. Lengthy wait times have since become the norm at airports across the country, and officials are worried that the mounting chaos could result in closures.
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“If this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly the smaller ones, if callout rates go up and a lot of these officers can’t afford to come in,” Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said Tuesday.
More than 300 TSA employees have quit since the shutdown began, DHS said Friday.
While air travel has been snarled as a result of the partial shutdown, DHS has been able to continue much of its immigration crackdown thanks to money from the Republican tax and spending bill that was passed last year. DHS received $170 billion, including $75 billion specifically for ICE.
Democrats have taken efforts to force a vote to fund agencies within DHS apart from ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Those efforts have been blocked by Republicans.
The turbulence at DHS comes after President Donald Trump fired Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this month, days after she faced bipartisan backlash during congressional hearings. Her replacement, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, had a fiery confirmation hearing Wednesday.
