(AURN News) — The deadline for Department of Homeland Security funding is looming, with just days remaining.
Democrats are holding firm on a sweeping list of changes to how Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operate.
They are calling for body cameras on agents, a ban on face coverings, tighter limits on the use of force and an end to roaming neighborhood sweeps. They also want stricter rules before officers enter private homes, greater transparency when raids turn deadly and real penalties when agents cross the line.
This is not a small fight. Lawmakers in both parties are already saying a partial DHS shutdown is on the table because neither side wants to appear to have caved on the border in an election year.
If talks collapse, ICE and Border Patrol would continue operating under last year’s Trump-era funding, but the impact would be felt at TSA checkpoints staffed by workers without pay, Coast Guard crews stretched thin and parts of FEMA and cyber defense scaled back.
The question is how Americans will react to a shutdown.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
