Jeffries Says Democrats Won't Pass DHS Deal Without ICE Reforms [View all]

Source: Yahoo! Finance/Bloomberg

Sun, February 8, 2026 at 11:34 AM EST 2 min read


(Bloomberg) -- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats are insisting on their full list of demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement before agreeing to pass the remaining government funding for the Department of Homeland Security before the Friday deadline.

“We need to press forward aggressively and ensure that there are legislative changes enacted as part of any DHS spending bill because that’s the way that you change behavior,” Jeffries said Sunday on CNN’s . “Dramatic changes are necessary to the manner in which the Department of Homeland Security officers are conducting themselves before any funding bill should move forward.”

Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer listed 10 restrictions they want placed on ICE and Border Patrol in a letter late Wednesday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The demands include prohibiting DHS officers from entering private property without a judicial warrant, verifying individuals aren’t US citizens before detaining them, requiring agents to wear body cameras and identification badges, and preventing them from covering their faces.

“ICE is completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries said. “They have gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in because immigration enforcement should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane.” Democratic Senator John Fetterman said he doesn’t see a political way out of a funding halt for DHS before the deadline. “I absolutely would expect that it’s going to shut down,” he said on Fox News’ .

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