Ball is in the GOP’s court on DHS funding standoff, House minority leader says

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he’s not confident Congress will strike a deal to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded and it’s up to Republicans to break the stalemate.

Mr. Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, both New York Democrats, have insisted that President Trump and Republicans agree to a 10‑point list of demands before Democrats will support DHS funding. The department oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.

“We know that ICE is completely and totally out of control,” Mr. Jeffries said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “They’ve gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in, because immigration enforcement should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane.”

“So dramatic changes are necessary to the manner in which the Department of Homeland Security officers are conducting themselves before any funding bill should move forward,” he said.

Democrats have been pushing for changes to immigration enforcement following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. Their demands include banning masks that hide federal officers’ identities, ending “indiscriminate” arrests, and prohibiting arrests near “sensitive” locations such as clinics, churches, courts, day cares, and schools.

Republicans have blasted the proposal, arguing it would make communities less safe.

“This isn’t a serious negotiation,” Sen. Bill Hagerty said on “Fox News Sunday.”

The Tennessee Republican argued that Democrats are trying to fire up their base by waging the debate in the media instead of at the negotiating table.

Mr. Hagerty said Republicans are willing to consider body‑camera requirements, but he warned that some of the Democratic proposals would put federal immigration agents at risk.

“The left has gone completely overboard, and they are threatening the safety and security of our agents,” he said.

Mr. Jeffries said Democrats haven’t heard back from the White House or GOP leaders on Capitol Hill.

Funding for Homeland Security runs out after Feb. 13.

Democrats have signaled an interest in splitting the DHS funding bill so that other agencies aren’t caught up in the standoff. Republicans reject the idea.

The bill for funding Homeland Security covers a wide range of agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Mr. Jeffries said Democrats want to keep those agencies operating, but Republicans need to accept the “common sense changes” Democrats have proposed.

“In our view, the ball is in the court right now of the Republicans — either they’re going to agree to dramatically reform the way in which ice and other immigration enforcement agencies are conducting themselves so that they’re behaving like every other law enforcement agency in the country, or they’re making the explicit decision to shut down the coast guard, shut down FEMA and shut down TSA, and that will be very unfortunate,” he said.