House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will not support any funding for the Department of Homeland Security without a deal on the conduct of federal officials, a new line in the sand for congressional Democrats that increases the likelihood of a partial government shutdown later this month.
Jeffries told the Washington Examiner he is a “hard no” on a full-year bill that keeps DHS funding flat, viewed by Republicans as a “fallback” in the event negotiations over immigration enforcement fall through.
Jeffries previously told reporters that he would also oppose a shorter-term patch, known as a continuing resolution, after DHS funding expires at the end of next week.
“I’m a hard no on a yearlong CR,” Jeffries said on Wednesday, demanding that Republicans agree to “bold, meaningful, and transformative” reforms to Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement after immigration officials killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month.
“We need to resolve this issue by Feb. 13,” Jeffries added.
His comments come as he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have attempted to project unity as they negotiate a deal on immigration enforcement with the White House.
The two met at the Capitol on Tuesday evening and again with appropriators and members of Democratic leadership on Wednesday, hosting a press conference later that morning, during which Schumer said Democrats hope to share “tough, strong legislation” on DHS in the next 24 hours.
Schumer has declined to answer directly whether he and Jeffries are on the same page on a funding patch, telling reporters on Tuesday only that “we think along the same lines” and are in frequent contact. But the red lines from Jeffries threaten to create yet another rift between the two leaders.
Jeffries opposed a government funding deal on Tuesday that Schumer negotiated with President Donald Trump, joining all but 21 House Democrats who voted against the legislation, which funded much of the government until October and gave lawmakers two more weeks to broker a compromise on DHS.
When asked about why he was not party to that deal, Jeffries sidestepped the question to insist that Democrats in the “House and Senate are completely and totally on the same page.”
“Leader Schumer and I had a close, positive conversation yesterday about the path forward,” Jeffries said. “We’ve remained in close contact over the last several days, as we will continue to do.”
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Democrats are asking for Trump to sign into law legislation that tightens warrant requirements for ICE, bans face masks, and implements use-of-force standards akin to those used by local police departments.
But Republicans are widely skeptical of reforms to ICE beyond a requirement for body cameras and de-escalation training, two measures that were included in an earlier compromise on DHS.