Progressive Democrats in Congress say they will block DHS funding unless Congress enacts major reforms to ICE and immigration enforcement following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Goodin in Minneapolis. The Congressional Progressive Caucus seeks prohibitions on masked ICE operations, warrants for arrests, an end to private detention contracts and stronger accountability measures. Senators and hundreds of protesters rallied outside Customs and Border Protection in Washington, and some Democrats say they will use the appropriations process — and even pursue impeachment — to force change.
Progressive Democrats Threaten To Block DHS Funding Unless ICE Enforcement Is Reformed After Minneapolis Shooting
Federal agents clash with community members during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Tuesday.Photograph: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images
Progressive Democrats in the US Congress have pledged to oppose any legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unless it includes sweeping reforms to immigration enforcement, following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Goodin in Minneapolis during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation.
The announcement from the Congressional Progressive Caucus comes as the House and Senate race to pass a package of 12 appropriations bills before the end-of-month deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. The caucus says it will withhold support for homeland security funding until specific changes are written into the DHS appropriations bill.
What Progressives Are Demanding
Progressive leaders outlined several concrete reforms they want included in the homeland security appropriations bill:
- Prohibitions on masked or otherwise unidentifiable ICE officers during enforcement operations;
- A requirement that arrests by ICE agents be made only with judicially authorized warrants unless exigent circumstances exist;
- An end to federal contracts with private detention facilities and stronger oversight of detention conditions;
- Broader limits on militarized policing tactics and clearer accountability mechanisms for federal immigration enforcement.
"Our caucus members will oppose all funding for immigration enforcement in any appropriation bills until meaningful reforms are enacted to end militarized policing practices," said Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Democratic caucus deputy chair and representative for much of Minneapolis.
"Because the abuses are so widespread and occur in so many different places, we have to address all of them," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration. Jayapal detailed the mask ban, warrant requirement and the end to private detention contracts as priorities.
The progressive wing — roughly 100 members, nearly all in the House — could complicate passage of the DHS funding bill, which is being negotiated between House and Senate appropriators. Though appropriations bills are often bipartisan, the caucus’s resistance raises the prospect that the homeland security measure could be delayed or amended substantially.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled agreement that commonsense reforms are needed, saying ICE must operate "in a manner that is at least consistent with every other law enforcement agency in the United States of America."
On Tuesday evening, several Democratic senators joined hundreds of protesters outside the Washington, DC, headquarters of Customs and Border Protection to support using the DHS appropriations process to press for changes at ICE.
"We must stop funding DHS and ICE thugs, and we must demand that ICE leave Minneapolis and other communities to prevent further escalation and tragic death," Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey told protesters.
"If we are going to fund the Department of Homeland Security, we want to fund an agency that is simply complying with the law," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy told the crowd, arguing the leverage could both impose reforms and prevent other federal law enforcement resources from being diverted to immigration enforcement.
Good's death occurred after federal agents carried out a broad operation in the Minneapolis area that initially targeted the city's Somali community. Minnesota's attorney general filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt aspects of the operation, and DHS announced that additional federal agents would be deployed to the area.
Administration officials have defended the use of force in the incident; other lawmakers and community leaders have called for accountability and independent investigations. In response to the operation, Democratic Congresswoman Robin Kelly said she will introduce articles of impeachment against the DHS secretary, alleging obstruction of justice and violations of public trust.
Progressive Rep. Delia Ramirez — whose Chicago-area district was targeted in a recent ICE campaign — called for even stronger action: prosecutions of agents who operate anonymously, significant cuts to ICE funding, and the use of every available tool, including appropriations decisions, to curb what she described as a campaign of intimidation against immigrant communities.
The dispute underscores a broader clash over how the federal government enforces immigration laws, balances public safety and civil liberties, and uses its appropriations power to demand institutional change.
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