Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., ripped into Democrats on Tuesday, calling their proposal to tie Department of Homeland Security funding to a requirement that federal immigration officers obtain a court-issued warrant for enforcement operations "completely unworkable."
Congress faces a midnight Friday deadline to secure DHS funding after the measure was carved out of the main appropriations package in an effort to appease Democrats and avert a partial government shutdown on Jan. 30.
Johnson told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he hopes Congress can pass another stopgap funding measure to buy more time, but said Democrats have been unreasonable in negotiations.
Democrats who oppose President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement efforts "want to defund DHS just like they want to defund police," Johnson said.
DHS funding covers Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It also includes other agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Democrats appear unwilling to budge from a list of 10 demands they have said must be met to approve DHS funding. Those demands include requiring court-issued warrants for enforcement actions, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards, and an end to racial profiling.
Democrats argue that the changes are necessary following the shooting deaths of two anti-ICE protesters in encounters with federal law enforcement last month in Minneapolis.
Democrats "want to make it almost impossible for ICE to do its job," said Johnson, a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "Of the 10 demands, probably the most obnoxious is they want to require judicial warrants, which is completely unworkable.
"Our immigration laws have always been enforced by the executive branch, through administrative law judges. We have, again, literally millions of cases that need to be adjudicated. Our Article III courts simply can't handle that, and Democrats know it."
The White House sent a counterproposal addressing some of Democrats' demands, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it late Monday "incomplete and insufficient," according to CNBC.
Johnson also defended ICE officers who wear masks or obscure their faces during enforcement actions, accusing Democrats of wanting political activists to "dox" agents.
"Democrats want to make sure that ICE can't use masks," he said. "Why is that?
"Because they want their activists to be able to dox them and put their families at risk."
Johnson warned that a government shutdown would cause serious harm, noting that FEMA and TSA would face funding disruptions if DHS appropriations lapsed, even as other parts of the department have been funded through previous legislation.
"They're really playing with fire here," he said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.