Democrats send DHS funding counteroffer to White House as partial govt shutdown grinds on

WASHINGTON, DC: Democrats have sent a counteroffer to the White House and congressional Republicans outlining their demands to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a partial government shutdown continues.

The proposal, transmitted late on Monday, February 16, has not been publicly detailed. Chuck Schumer’s office declined to elaborate, with the New York Democrat remaining reluctant to negotiate through the media.

President Donald Trump said he is willing to meet Democrats to try to break the impasse.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida, Trump said, “I will,” adding, “We have to protect our law enforcement. They’ve done a great job.”

DHS agencies affected due to shutdown 

Now in its fourth day, the shutdown is impacting key DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Coast Guard, and the US Secret Service.

Most DHS employees are expected to continue working without pay, marking the second such disruption in recent months following last fall’s record 43-day government shutdown.

Capitol Hill, meanwhile, remains largely empty as lawmakers are in recess.

Members have been advised to be ready to return to Washington on 48 hours’ notice if negotiations produce a deal; otherwise, Congress is not scheduled to reconvene until next week.

Democrats push sweeping ICE reforms

At the heart of the standoff are Democratic demands for sweeping reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

These include mandatory body cameras for agents, a requirement for judicial warrants, rather than administrative ones, before entering private property, a ban on agents wearing face masks, stricter use-of-force rules, and expanded training standards.

Republicans have pushed back on most of the proposals, though some have signaled openness to body cameras. 

Trump said Monday, February 16, night that he opposes several of the requests. “I don’t like some of the things they’re asking for,” he said. “We’re going to protect law enforcement. We are going to protect ICE.”

Immigration enforcement continues despite shutdown

ICE operations are continuing during the shutdown due to a $75 billion funding infusion included in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by Congress last summer.

More than 93% of ICE and US Customs and Border Protection personnel are expected to remain on duty.

The DHS funding dispute intensified following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24, just weeks after the January 7 killing of Renee Good, a mother of three, by an ICE agent in the same city.

White House “border czar” Tom Homan said the shutdown has not affected immigration enforcement. “ICE has continued to enforce the law across the country,” Homan said on CNN. “Now the ICE officers won’t be getting paid. But they’re getting used to that, it seems like.”

Schumer has continued to argue that reforms are overdue. “These are common-sense proposals,” he said on CNN, adding, “ICE is rogue, out of control.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, declined to specify what Democrats might concede. “We’re willing to have a good-faith conversation about everything,” Jeffries said, “but fundamentally, we need change that is dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational.”