The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee has introduced a bill that would fund most Department of Homeland Security agencies while withholding money from those involved in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.
The measure from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., would provide full-year funding for agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration, but exclude Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Secretary Kristi Noem’s office.
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot be abolished, but I will not provide a single dime of funding until we see radical changes in how it operates," DeLauro said in a news release.
"If Republican leadership blocks this legislation from moving forward, they are responsible for any shuttered agencies, furloughed workers, missed paychecks, or reduced services," she said.
Congress faces a midnight Friday deadline to secure DHS funding after the department’s appropriations measure was carved out of a broader spending package in January to avert a partial government shutdown.
Democrats have said they will not support DHS funding unless a list of 10 policy demands is met.
Those include requiring court-issued warrants for certain enforcement actions, clearer identification requirements for DHS officers, new use-of-force standards, and a ban on racial profiling.
They have argued the changes are necessary following the fatal shooting of two anti-ICE protesters last month during encounters with federal law enforcement in Minneapolis.
"We need major reforms at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection," DeLauro said. "These policies are supported by the vast majority of Americans and are necessary to protect our communities.
"Republicans know this.
"They must not withhold federal disaster assistance, cybersecurity readiness, and the paychecks of thousands of federal workers who follow the law."
The House passed a full-year DHS spending bill Jan. 22, but the measure has stalled in the Senate amid disagreements over immigration enforcement policy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has floated the idea of another continuing resolution to extend DHS funding and allow negotiations with Democrats to continue.
But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday that the Senate should instead take up the House-passed bill.
"We have not moved to a CR here because our position is the Senate should pass the House-passed homeland bill," Johnson said. "We did the work in the House, and I think they should get that through."
"Us offering a CR would be a concession that we don’t believe in that product, and that’s just simply not the case," Johnson continued. "I’m very hopeful. We still have time on the clock."
"When there’s a will there’s a way, and if they can come to an agreement on this and get it done, that will behoove the whole country," he said.
A Senate deadlock last month led lawmakers to approve a short-term funding extension for DHS to avoid a partial shutdown.
Johnson said Democrats’ opposition has nothing to do with immigration enforcement because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act guarantees such funding "all the way through the Trump administration."
"What they’re playing with is TSA, and FEMA, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard," he said.
"The reason they are in the Homeland Security bill is because those are agencies charged with keeping Americans safe," Johnson said. "Why would Democrats play political games with that?
"These are very important questions you need to be asking them."
"It’s nonsense to us and it’s dangerous to the American people, and I think we’ve had just about enough of it," 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.
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