By: Elianna Tsigler
On Saturday, Jan. 31, the federal government was partially shut down due to Congress’s failure to pass a spending bill for the 2026 fiscal year on time, according to an article by NPR.
Senate Democrats withdrew their support for the funding bill designed for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after a second fatal incident in Minnesota gained national attention and ended in the passing of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.
Pretti was a 37‑year‑old intensive care unit nurse from Minneapolis who was fatally shot in an incident involving alleged Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, according to an article by ProPublica.
In response to the death, the Democratic Party called for ten specific changes regarding ICE regulations, namely: “Targeted Enforcement,” “No Masks,” “Require ID,” “Protect Sensitive Locations,” “Stop Racial Profiling,” “Uphold Use of Force Standard,” “Ensure State and Local Coordination and Oversight,” “Build Safeguards into the System,” “Body Cameras for Accountability, Not Tracking,” and “No Paramilitary Police,” as stated in a letter from Jeffries and Democratic Senate Leader Charles Schumer to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson and the Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
“We need dramatic change in order to make sure that ICE and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement organization in the country,” Jeffries told AP.
To avoid another prolonged shutdown like the one in 2025, President Trump signed a bill that funds most government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year, securing funding through Sept. 30; however, a ten-day window for DHS funding was imposed while Democrats and Republicans debate which regulations will be enforced on ICE agents, according to the NY Times.
“It is critical that we come together to impose common sense reforms and accountability measures that the American people are demanding,” states the letter.
Speaker of the Republican Party, Mike Johnson, says he believes an agreement will be reached by the deadline, according to an AP article.
However, with the Feb. 13 deadline fast approaching, negotiations regarding the DHS have not yet begun as of the end of last week. Both parties are at a stalemate as Republicans do not agree with the Democrats’ requests. Senator Katie Britt called their list “a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press,” while other Republicans see it as unserious.
If there is no agreement “on how to rein in federal law enforcement, specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” another shutdown is likely to occur and will impactagencies such as TSA (Transportation Security Administration), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and the CBP (Customs and Border Protection), according to an article by CNN.
“The administration can’t just talk the talk, they need to walk the walk,” said Jeffries on “This Week,” an ABC segment. “That should begin today. Not in two weeks, today.”