Lawmakers locked in standoff over ICE reforms as DHS funding deadline approaches
Source: CBS News
Updated on: February 8, 2026 / 5:13 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Republicans and Democrats in Congress are locked in a standoff over reforming the nation's immigration enforcement operation as a deadline to reach a resolution and fund the Department of Homeland Security approaches. Last week, Congress passed a package of funding measures to reopen the government and fund the bulk of agencies through September after a four-day partial shutdown. The stalemate came amid a dispute over funds for DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Lawmakers ultimately approved a stopgap measure to keep the department funded — but only through Feb. 13. The short-term funding patch was designed to give lawmakers more time to negotiate how to rein in the administration's immigration's enforcement operation, which came under scrutiny after two deadly shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis last month. But so far, the two sides appear far from an agreement.
Senate Democrats submitted draft legislation of the DHS funding measure to Republicans, multiple sources confirmed CBS News. The legislative language reflects Democrats' proposals to reform ICE as outlined in a letter last week from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries .
Schumer and Jeffries released a list of demands last week to impose "guardrails" on DHS, including by restricting immigration agents from wearing masks and requiring them to display an ID and use body cameras. They also demanded agents be banned from entering private property without judicial warrants, along with requiring agents to verify that someone is not a U.S. citizen before holding them in immigration detention, among other things. Republicans were quick to criticize the demands as "unrealistic and unserious."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-funding-deadline-approaches-ice-reforms/
