Are Democrats finally growing a backbone? Many Senate Democrats are now prepared to let the government shut down over ICE funding—and the execution of Alex Pretti is why.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Sunday that his caucus will block the Department of Homeland Security spending bill according to the AP. If Congress can’t pass the remaining spending bills by midnight Friday, parts of the federal government go dark.
WHAT’S GOING ON: This is the second fatal shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis this month. Renee Good, a mother of three, was killed earlier in January. Now Pretti—an American citizen, an ICE nurse—is dead too. Democrats had already been furious. Now they’re done negotiating.
“Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face zero consequences,” wrote Washington Senator Patty Murray, who had been pushing colleagues to vote for the DHS bill. She’s now a hard no.
Schumer called the situation in Minnesota “appalling” and said Democrats “will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
THE DETAILS: Republicans control the Senate but need Democratic support to pass spending bills. Six of the twelve annual funding bills have already become law. The remaining six—including the one covering Homeland Security—need to pass by Friday or funding lapses.
Democrats want the DHS portion stripped out and rewritten with new restrictions: requiring ICE agents to use warrants, mandating better training, and keeping Border Patrol on the actual border instead of conducting interior raids.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy put it bluntly on CNN: Congress cannot fund a department “that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls across the country in violation of the law.”
BUT BUT BUT: Republicans are in a bind. Some, like Senators Bill Cassidy and Thom Tillis, are calling for “thorough investigations.” Others, like Lindsey Graham, are telling Democrats to back off and blaming “sanctuary city policies.” The White House has reached out to Democrats, but according to a Senate aide, they haven’t offered “any realistic solutions.”
Of course, federal officials are defending both shootings as “justified.” Democrats say the video evidence shows otherwise.
WHY IT MATTERS: This isn’t just procedural drama. Democrats are drawing a line: they will not fund an agency whose agents have killed two people in a single American city in a matter of weeks. More than 100 House Democrats have already called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment.
The last government shutdown stretched 43 days. If this one happens, the Department of Defense and other agencies would be affected—though critical operations like food assistance would continue thanks to earlier funding measures.
Minnesota’s senators made their position clear. “For those asking where we go from here: Not voting to fund ICE is a great place for us to start,” wrote Senator Tina Smith. Senator Amy Klobuchar added: “We call on our Republican colleagues to stand up. They know this is wrong.”