White House officials detailed their latest Department of Homeland Security funding proposal to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, which includes requiring immigration officers to self-identify if confronted during immigration enforcement proceedings, a major sticking point for Democrats during the weekslong shutdown negotiations.
The Washington Examiner obtained a letter sent Tuesday by President Donald Trump‘s border czar, Tom Homan, and White House Legislative Affairs Director James Braid to Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Susan Collins (R-ME) detailing the five concessions the White House extended to Democrats.
First, the Trump administration discussed expanding the use of body cameras for DHS law enforcement officers, with an exception for officers carrying out undercover operations. Previous government funding packages included language requiring the use of body cameras, but Tuesday’s letter specifically noted that the administration will “increase Congressional oversight by requiring retention of body-camera video footage and compliance transparency.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) suggested that the body camera provision would include $100 million in new funding for enhanced oversight, but White House officials would not confirm that figure.
The White House has also proposed limiting “civil immigration enforcement activities at certain sensitive locations,” including hospitals and schools. Officials note this point is “subject to a narrow carve-out for immediate needs like national security, flight risks, and public safety.”
The White House also pledged to expand Congress’s oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities by specifically expanding “mandatory review and compliance reporting” by the DHS Inspector General to be delivered to lawmakers.
On the self-identification front, White House officials say they will begin enforcing requirements for DHS law enforcement officials to clearly display “visible officer identification” and verbally respond when asked by American citizens which agency they work for. Undercover officers would not be subject to these requirements, and senior White House officials say the change would not affect department policy on the use of face masks during fieldwork.
Finally, the White House re-doubled its commitment to “existing law and practice of not deporting” U.S. citizens and not “knowingly” detaining citizens, “except when the person violates a state or federal law that makes the citizen subject to arrest.”
Senior White House officials briefed reporters on the contents of the proposal Tuesday evening after Democrats sent a counterproposal back to the White House overnight on Monday. Those officials claimed that the White House’s offer, made some days earlier, had been mischaracterized in the press and that the Democrats’ counterproposal was “unserious.”
“This offer is reasonable. It is serious. It is the product of work that has gone on almost since the shutdown began,” one official claimed. “The Democrats have once again responded with a counter that does not indicate the seriousness that this moment needs.”
The official called the White House’s offer “a good faith attempt to try to come to a reasonable and expeditious conclusion to the shutdown.”
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“At some point, refusal to even negotiate on funding critical areas of this department while putting forward proposals to defund components or agencies within the department becomes just that: a long-term attempt to strip funding from critical missions within the agency that are very important to protecting American lives, property and health and safety,” that person assessed.
You can read the letter detailing the White House’s proposals in full below.