Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), on Tuesday, vowed to block a Homeland Security funding bill unless it includes sweeping changes to immigration enforcement after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and US citizen, in Minneapolis.
Schumer Demands Sweeping Overhaul Of ICE Operations
On X, Schumer drew a clear line in the sand. “In the wake of ICE’s abuses and the administration’s recklessness, Senate Democrats will NOT pass the DHS budget until it is rewritten. I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled.”
Schumer said administrative fixes are insufficient after Pretti’s killing and the earlier fatal shooting of Renee Good, another 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. “This fix should come from Congress,” he said on the Senate floor. “The public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own and the Republicans and Democrats must work together to make that happen.”
Funding Standoff Raises Shutdown Risk For DHS
His stance raises the odds of a partial government shutdown when current funding expires Jan. 30, as Republicans resist adding enforcement curbs to the six-bill appropriations package that contains the Department of Homeland Security budget. Some in the GOP are instead urging President Donald Trump to address Democrats’ concerns through executive action.
Democrats want the DHS measure stripped out so the other five spending bills can pass, a maneuver that would require unanimous consent from all 100 senators. Republican leaders, however, argue that ICE and Border Patrol need stable funding for equipment, training and oversight, even as the Minnesota shootings fuel public anger. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday he prefers to keep the package intact. Across the Capitol, House Republicans are pressing their Senate counterparts not to peel off DHS.
Minnesota Shootings Become A New National Flashpoint
Minneapolis has become a flash point since Good’s death on Jan. 7 and Pretti’s killing on Jan. 24, both during federal immigration operations. Local and national Democrats have demanded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation and urged Trump to pull all immigration agents out of Minnesota.
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