House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is preparing an effort to force a vote on legislation to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security without funding two immigration enforcement agencies at the center of a dispute on Capitol Hill.
A similar approach has already faced resistance in Congress.
Senate Democrats attempted last week to pass legislation funding agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency while excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, but the proposal was blocked by Senate Republicans.
The Hill reported that Jeffries told fellow Democrats in a letter Monday that party leaders plan to introduce a discharge petition to bring the measure to the House floor.
The proposal would fund several DHS components, including TSA, FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Coast Guard. It would leave out ICE and CBP.
"The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than 30 days because [President] Donald Trump and Republican extremists refuse to get ICE under control," Jeffries wrote.
"Meanwhile, hardworking employees of the TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and FEMA have been forced to work without pay."
The funding standoff stems from a political dispute over immigration enforcement policies and the role of federal agencies such as ICE and CBP.
Democrats have raised concerns about immigration enforcement tactics while pushing for stricter rules for federal immigration officers as a condition for supporting DHS funding.
Jeffries said Democrats plan to continue pressing for changes that include restrictions on the use of face masks, new warrant requirements before arrests, and expanded body camera mandates.
"House Democrats will continue to demand changes to ICE that are bold, meaningful and transformational," Jeffries wrote.
"Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, just and humane. That is not what is happening right now."
A discharge petition is a procedural mechanism used to bring legislation to the House floor when the majority party declines to schedule a vote.
The effort would require 218 signatures, meaning Democrats would need support from at least four Republicans to succeed.
Discharge petitions have been used in recent months to force House votes on issues including releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein and extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Jim Mishler ✉
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