A government shutdown appears all but inevitable as Democrats escalate their standoff with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, unveiling a sweeping list of demands they say must be met before agreeing to long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The warning came just one day after the House narrowly voted 217–214 to partially fund the federal government and bring an end to the ongoing shutdown. That package funds five major areas of government — including Defense, Transportation, and Health and Human Services — but leaves DHS operating under a short-term extension set to expire on February 13.
On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released what they called their “core demands” for DHS funding. The message was blunt: accept these conditions or face another shutdown.
The demands amount to a dramatic restructuring of immigration enforcement. Among the most controversial provisions is a requirement that ICE and DHS agents obtain warrants before making arrests — even when dealing with violent criminals who are in the country illegally. The proposal would also require agents to unmask during operations, publicly disclose their identities, and allow states to sue DHS for alleged violations.
Other demands would bar immigration enforcement entirely from “sensitive locations,” including schools, churches, courthouses, and polling places. Democrats also want to impose strict new limits on the use of force, expand body camera mandates, and create avenues for states to launch investigations into federal immigration officers.
Taken together, critics argue the proposals would make effective immigration enforcement nearly impossible.
In their letter, Jeffries and Schumer went further, calling on President Donald Trump to fire DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and immediately withdraw federal immigration agents from Minnesota, where enforcement operations have triggered protests in recent weeks.
Republicans were quick to dismiss the demands as a nonstarter. House Speaker Mike Johnson has already warned that holding DHS funding hostage over immigration objections is unlikely to succeed. ICE and Customs and Border Protection received billions in additional funding last year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, insulating core deportation operations from short-term funding fights.
Johnson has also emphasized that DHS funding extends beyond immigration enforcement, supporting critical functions such as disaster response, airport security, and border infrastructure.
“This isn’t about reform,” one senior Republican aide said privately. “It’s about shutting down immigration enforcement by any means necessary.”
With the February 13 deadline fast approaching and neither side showing signs of backing down, Washington is bracing for another shutdown showdown — one driven less by budget math than by an all-out political war over immigration policy.
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