Backlash to Trump emboldens Democrats on DHS and ICE as partial shutdown looms

WASHINGTON — Americans are souring on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, complicating an already messy dynamic on Capitol Hill as emboldened Democrats draw a hard line against another short-term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

Just over four days until funding runs out, key members of the Senate Democratic Caucus say they won’t support another continuing resolution, or “CR,” to prevent a shutdown of DHS beginning this weekend.

“What ICE is doing is unconscionable, and it’s got to be reined in. I can’t, in good conscience, vote for it,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, told NBC News. “I would feel complicit in what they are doing.”

King’s statement is significant. He was one of eight senators in the Democratic caucus who voted with Republicans to reopen the government after a historic shutdown over health care last fall. And he has been instrumental in getting the Senate over the key 60-vote hurdle for recent funding bills. Asked why he’s drawing a line now, he said the situation is different because “96% of the government is now funded.”

“So if DHS isn’t funded, you’re talking about ICE and TSA and the Coast Guard and FEMA” being shut down, he said Monday. “Which I regret. But it’s not the same as it was in the fall, where you were talking about food stamps, support for research and development, medical care, all of those things. So it’s a very different situation in terms of balancing what’s at stake.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Appropriations subcommittee that writes funding bills for DHS, said he doesn’t expect another short-term bill for DHS. Congress can “solve it this week” if Republicans get serious, he said.

“They don’t need another continuing resolution,” Murphy told NBC News on Monday. “I don’t think there’s a lot of interest in continuing to fund this agency that’s out of control — killing American citizens, tear-gassing elementary schools — without reform. People are going to get killed. More people are going to get killed if we continue to fund DHS.”

An NPR/PBS/Marist poll conducted at the end of January found that just 34% of registered voters approve of the job Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doing, while 61% disapprove. The survey found that 65% believe ICE has “gone too far” (an 11-point jump from June), and 62% say it is making the U.S. “less safe.”

A Quinnipiac University poll, conducted from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, found 38% of registered voters approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration issues, compared with 59% who disapprove. In addition, 63% said they disapprove of ICE.

The political shift isn’t lost on Trump, who made a rare admission in a recent NBC interview that his administration may need “a softer touch” on immigration enforcement after the Minnesota killings.

Democrats have released 10 demands for changes to ICE and DHS enforcement more broadly, which include requiring judicial warrants to enter private property and making agents wear identification.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that Democratic leaders “sent legislative text” of that plan to the White House and Republican leaders and have “no idea” where they stand.

“When I say that Democrats offer exceedingly reasonable proposals and have the support of the American people, I’m not exaggerating,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor.

“They’re reasonable for one obvious reason. We’re asking ICE to do nothing more than follow the standards that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies already follow,” he added, citing “no secret police wearing masks without identification” among them.

“Well, Republicans, the clock is ticking,” Schumer said.

Republicans have some leverage of their own: ICE was given $75 billion in funding by Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that it can continue to access in a shutdown, meaning many immigration functions would continue even if money lapses.

For the White House, nothing is off the table, a senior administration official told NBC News.

“Nothing has been ruled out. There are some items worth discussing and others that are more challenging,” the official said, adding that Democrats have been negotiating in “good faith” so far.

The official added that it’s “possible” that Trump “engages directly, but we are not there yet.”

But the White House is already preparing talking points in case of a DHS shutdown — preparing to blame Democrats for “taking critical services hostage.” The official said the White House is committed to working across the aisle and continuing bipartisan conversations, even if the funding deadline passes, to ensure DHS services remain funded, including disaster response.

It’s notable that the White House is engaging at all, in contrast with the last shutdown over the Affordable Care Act. Asked what makes this time different, the White House official cited a mix of “political, constitutional and circumstantial factors.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., again deferred to the White House to reach a deal with Democrats.

“Over the weekend, the Trump administration and congressional Democrats engaged in meaningful talks on a path forward, and Democrats have made their demands known in detail. Some of them are positive starting points for further discussion. Others are nonstarters and unnecessarily tie the hands of law enforcement,” Thune said on the Senate floor.

“In the coming days, the administration and Democrats will need to work out their differences,” he added.

Still, some in the party are pessimistic that there will be a deal to fund DHS and prevent a shutdown.

“Most Republicans that I’ve talked to think that Chuck’s proposals are not very meritorious,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “And we wouldn’t vote for them. So that’s a long-winded way of saying, after a bunch of nay-nay and yada-yada back and forth — I think it might take a few weeks, but we’ll end up with a clean CR that just maintains the status quo, because the Dems don’t want to get blamed for hurting FEMA or TSA or the Coast Guard.”