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Senate Democrats are betting they can make substantial headway in immigration enforcement negotiations in just a few days.
Practically speaking, they’ll need a deal well before Feb. 13 — the Department Homeland Security shutdown deadline they’re working with — to get it on the floor.
“It’ll be hard, but we will know quickly whether it’s going to happen or not,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Semafor.
Democrats have their demands, and some Republicans are willing to consider them. Others are bearish.
“Their proposals are insane, so I’m not optimistic,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who devised a list of GOP counterproposals with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “Are we going to pass a law around here that kneecaps ICE? No.”
Don’t be surprised if more short-term DHS funding bills are needed — just the slightest hiccup will throw off the goal of a deal by mid-February.
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Democrats want immigration officers to operate under use-of-force rules, and they want to require warrants; end masked immigration enforcement; and mandate that officers wear body cameras. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said existing laws need “enforcement teeth” and “real consequences for people who violate the law” — including ICE agents.
Notably, the now-abandoned DHS full-year funding bill did have some money for body cameras. It’s possible that bill now serves as a starting point for negotiators.
“We had an agreement. So I kind of think we can. But it may be hinging on what [border czar Tom] Homan can work out up there in Minneapolis,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “The question is the mechanics of it, writing it, getting it through. What kind of procedures does it have to go through? And then there’s the question with the House, too.”
Indeed, there’s no guarantee the House accepts a deal negotiated in the Senate. Republicans have four of their own demands, too: they want to end sanctuary cities; enhance penalties for illegal entry, re-entry and assaulting ICE agents; and go after what Schmitt called “rogue NGOs.”
His message to Democrats: “This isn’t your narrative. It’s a home game for us. So if you want to have a debate about immigration enforcement, bring it on.”