How are Democrats trying to reform ICE?

While Democrats and Republicans are working to come to an agreement on funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the two sides remain far apart. Despite Republicans controlling Congress, they are unable to pass funding for ICE without some Democratic votes. Democrats in both chambers of Congress have thus put forth a series of changes they want to see within the controversial agency, whose funding expires Feb. 13.

What did the commentators say?

Democrats are calling for several major shifts within ICE, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has said these changes are a “line in the sand.” The most impactful proposal regards warrants. Democrats are “seeking to bar federal immigration agents from entering private property without a judicial warrant,” said The Washington Post. ICE has previously advised its agents that they can “enter homes to make arrests without a warrant from a judge, outraging Democrats” who say this violates the Fourth Amendment.

Americans largely agree with this idea, polls show. Nearly 70% of Americans believe ICE must “have judicial warrants in order to forcibly enter homes of people subject to deportation,” according to an Economist/YouGov poll. Despite the backing of most of the public, some in the GOP have “balked, arguing that the proposal would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy,” said the Post.

The widespread use of face coverings by ICE has also come under scrutiny, and Democrats are “pushing for a mask ban and identification requirements for federal agents,” said The Hill. ICE officials say that wearing masks prevents their agents from being doxxed online, but Democrats “argue that officers’ practice of masking and not displaying ID badges erodes accountability in these operations.” Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have “indicated changes to a mask and ID policy amount to nearly a nonstarter.”

There are several other changes that Democrats are seeking. They include prohibiting federal funds from “being used to conduct enforcement near sensitive locations, including medical facilities, schools, childcare facilities” and places of worship, said The Guardian. Democrats also want to stop ICE from “conducting stops, questioning and searches based on an individual’s presence at certain locations, their job, their spoken language and accent, or their race or ethnicity.” This last measure follows one notable video that circulated of an ICE agent claiming he was detaining a man “because of your accent.”

And while ICE has recently said it will equip all of its agents with body cameras, this has Democrats “running headlong into a new problem: fear that the technology will provide another avenue for mass surveillance of protesters,” said Politico. Though Democrats have made these body cameras one of their foremost demands, they must also navigate a growing “outcry from privacy advocates that surveillance tools will allow ICE agents to identify and track protesters.”

What next?

Democrats and Republicans are continuing to negotiate over the various ICE demands, and Democrats rejected an offer from the White House. But “finding real agreement in such a short time will be difficult,” said The Associated Press, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) saying it will likely be “an impossibility.” And House GOP leadership is also “demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill,” including a provision that would require proof of citizenship before people register to vote.