WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate may have found a way to avoid a prolonged federal shutdown over the harsh immigration enforcement tactics deployed in Minneapolis and other cities.
Senate Democrats held up funding for a large swath of the government this week, demanding reforms in the way federal agencies pursue enforcement. Their insistence follows widespread outrage over the death of a second American citizen in Minneapolis Saturday.
They reached an agreement with the White House and Republican leaders Thursday that could keep the government funded while the final bill is ironed out.
As news of the agreement broke, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she didn’t know the specifics, but she agreed with many of the reforms Democrats have asked for, such as de-escalation training for enforcement officers and requiring them to get warrants to enter homes.
“This can't just be kind of a fishing expedition, where you're hoping you find somebody in the home but you haven't been able to identify them,” she said.
(She didn’t specify whether they have to be judicial orders, as Democrats want, or whether administrative warrants will suffice.)
Likewise, she also wants to end roving patrols.
“We don't just wander the street, hoping that you can find somebody that you think perhaps looks suspicious, and you grab and you ask questions later,” she said. “That is not what we do in this country.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan said that he, too, supports changes in enforcement operations. He mentioned body cameras and de-escalation training, which are in the funding bill the House has already passed.
“I think ICE needs to revise its tactics and techniques,” he said. “We don't want, you know — my view is any civilians having the tragic deaths that we saw.”
He took a question about immigration enforcement during a press call on an unrelated subject. Sullivan didn’t say how he felt about ending roving patrols but said he’d look at the provisions in the negotiated bill.
“I'm always up for reforms that can make it safer for Americans and our law enforcement,” he said.
The Senate was expected to pass the funding bills Thursday night, but several Republican senators objected, so a vote is now expected Friday, at the earliest.
One of the bills, for the Department of Homeland Security, is a stop-gap, to keep the department going while the final bill with the enforcement reforms is prepared. The House has to pass the bills, too. The current funding expires on Saturday, so at least a short lapse in funding is likely.
This story has been updated to reflect that the expected Senate vote did not occur Thursday.
