Democrats demand 'dramatic changes' for ICE, including masks, cameras
and judicial warrants
[February 05, 2026]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JOEY CAPPELLETTI
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are threatening to block funding for the
Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there
are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are
carrying out President Donald Trump's campaign of federal immigration
enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.
Congress is discussing potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and
Border Protection after officers shot and killed two Minneapolis
protesters in January. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated their party's demands
Wednesday, with Schumer telling reporters that Congress must “rein in
ICE in very serious ways, and end the violence.”
Democrats are “drawing a line in the sand" as Republicans need their
votes to continue the funding, Jeffries said.
The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress
should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations
that have rocked Minnesota and other states. But finding real agreement
in such a short time will be difficult, if not “an impossibility," as
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday.
President Donald Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that
funding for the DHS be separated from a larger spending bill and
extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss
possible requirements for the federal agents. House Speaker Mike
Johnson, R-La., said this weekend that he was at the White House when
Trump spoke with Schumer and that they were “on the path to get
agreement.”
But it’s unclear if the president or enough congressional Republicans
will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the officers
unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain
cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans
have already pushed back.
And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities
be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation
that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to
vote. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators
are pushing for restrictions on sanctuary cities that they say don't do
enough to crack down on illegal immigration. There’s no clear definition
of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state
and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration
authorities.
It’s also uncertain if Democrats who are furious over the Trump
administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement
operations would be willing to compromise.
“Republicans need to get serious,” said Schumer, a New York Democrat.
Late Wednesday, he and Jeffries sent Thune and Johnson their list of
“common sense solutions that protect constitutional rights and ensure
responsible law enforcement.”
A look at Democrats’ demands and what Republicans are saying about them:
Agreement on body cameras
Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change
that was already in the underlying homeland security spending bill.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up Monday when she
ordered body-worn cameras to be issued to every DHS officer on the
ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE. She said the policy
would expand nationwide as funding becomes available.
The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement
agents with body-worn cameras.
Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection from 2014 to 2017, said that most agents are “very
supportive” of cameras because they could help exonerate officers. But
he added that complex questions remain, including when footage should be
released and when cameras must be activated.
“When do you turn it on? And if you got into a problem and didn’t have
it on, are you going to be disciplined? It’s really pretty complex,” he
said.
Schumer said Tuesday that the body cameras “need to stay on.”
Disagreement on masking
As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile
shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks
has become a flashpoint. Democrats argue that removing the masks would
increase accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to
harassment and threats.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, joined at
left by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other
leaders, calls on reporters during a news conference at the Capitol
in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott
Applewhite)
“State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it," said Rep. Bennie
Thompson, the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security.
"I mean, what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that
they have to wear a mask?”
But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.
“Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are
being doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that,” Johnson said on
Tuesday. He added that if you “unmask them and you put all their
identifying information on their uniform, they will obviously be
targeted.”
Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves “as
soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” according to federal
regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.
Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the
regulations.
“We just see routinely that that’s not happening,” said Nithya
Nathan Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource
Center.
Judicial vs. administrative warrants
Democrats have also demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and
an end to roving patrols of agents who are targeting people in the
streets and in their homes. Schumer said Tuesday that they want
“arrest warrants and an end to racial profiling.”
Most immigration arrests are carried out under administrative
warrants, internal documents issued by immigration authorities that
authorize the arrest of a specific person but do not permit officers
to forcibly enter private homes or other non-public spaces without
consent. Traditionally, only warrants signed by judges carry that
authority.
But an internal ICE memo obtained by The Associated Press last month
authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based
solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone
with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides
with Fourth Amendment protections.
Democrats have not made clear how broadly they want judicial
warrants used. Jeffries of New York said that Democrats want to see
“an end to the targeting of sensitive locations like houses of
worship, schools and hospitals.”
Johnson said Tuesday that Democrats are trying to “add an entirely
new layer” by seeking warrants signed by a judge rather than the
administrative warrants that are signed by the department. “We can’t
do that,” he said.
The speaker has said that an end to roving patrols is a potential
area of agreement, but he did not give details.
Code of conduct and more accountability
Democrats have also called for a uniform code of conduct for all ICE
and federal agents similar to that for state and local law
enforcement officers.
Federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing
evidence after protester Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE
agent on Jan. 7. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, demanded that the state
be allowed to take part, saying that it would be “very difficult for
Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state
could be fair.
Hoping for a miracle
Any deal Democrats strike on the Department of Homeland Security is
unlikely to satisfy everyone in the party. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of
Massachusetts said she would never support an agreement that didn't
require unmasking.
“I ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE,” Pressley said. “My
position has not changed.”
Thune, of South Dakota, has repeatedly said it's an “impossibility”
to negotiate and pass something so complicated in two weeks. He said
any talks should be between Democrats and Trump.
“I don’t think it’s very realistic," Thune said Tuesday about
finding quick agreement. “But there’s always miracles, right?”
___
Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.
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