US President Donald Trump and Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer moved to reach an agreement on Wednesday night to negotiate new restrictions on federal immigration agents, potentially averting a government shutdown, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing officials familiar with the matter. Under the plan, the Senate would carve out legislation funding the department of homeland security from a six-bill package of spending measures required to fund the military, health programmes and other federal agencies throughout the rest of the fiscal year, the Times said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The White House and a spokesperson for Schumer did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The Senate would pass the bills before a Friday midnight deadline, and Congress would also consider a short-term extension of homeland security operations to avoid service gaps at the Transportation Security Agency, Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, NYT added. The report comes after the Senate Democrats called for new restrictions on immigration agents earlier in the day, paving the way for a partial US government shutdown this weekend.
Democrats have said that they will not agree to extend DHS funding to September without new limits on Trump’s immigration crackdown. ICE and Border Patrol agents have come under widespread criticism after agents killed a second US citizen in Minneapolis last Saturday during immigration enforcement operations. According to the New York Times report, the stopgap bill would provide time for talks to draft a new homeland security spending bill that would include new restrictions on the tactics of immigration enforcement officers. Minority leader Schumer said earlier in the day that DHS agents including ICE must stop wearing face masks, use body cameras and follow the same use-of-force rules as local police.
Read Full Article on TimesLIVE
