President Trump has joined talks with Sen. Chuck Schumer aimed at averting a looming government shutdown over Democrats’ demands for reforms to rein in his deportation campaign in Minneapolis and elsewhere, sources close to the negotiations told the Daily News Thursday.
Although no deal has been reached, Trump and Republican Majority Leader John Thune are open to Schumer’s proposal to pass several funding bills that could keep the government open while setting aside one bankrolling the Department of Homeland Security, which is overseeing the anti-immigration push, the sources said.
“Thune and Schumer and Trump continue to negotiate (but there’s) nothing final,” one source said.
Democrats believe splitting off the DHS bill would give them potent leverage to negotiate reforms to the operation spearheaded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They want agents to stop wearing masks, carry identification, use body cameras and be forced to obtain judicial warrants to enter homes.
They also want the feds to avoid dangerous confrontations with protesters and guarantees of impartial investigations into the shooting deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens killed by ICE agents this month in Minneapolis.
“What we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) said. “There has to be accountability.”
It’s unclear how close the two sides are to a deal or what key sticking points remain.
A stopgap spending bill would likely need to be passed to fund DHS for a short period while reforms are hammered out.
Senate Republicans had refused to split up the spending bills because it would effectively force them to negotiate with Democrats to pass the DHS bill. Before Trump got involved, they were hoping to pressure some moderate Democrats to defect and agree to pass all the spending bills together.
But with outrage over Pretti’s killing rising, GOP leaders are not close to wrangling the 60 votes needed to pass the bills and keep the government open.
Democrats are asking the White House to end roving patrols in cities that often touched off violent confrontations with protesters and ordinary bystanders, and coordinate operations with local law enforcement. Democrats also want an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules.
Up to now, the White House has told agents they are effectively immune from prosecution.
Both sides want to avoid a shutdown. Democrats fear their constituents and federal workers will suffer the most, especially after the government recently shut down for 43 days in a partisan dispute over health spending.
Republicans fret that voters will blame them for a shutdown, especially since public opinion has turned sharply against Trump and his anti-immigrant crusade.
