Democrats and White House trade offers as shutdown of Homeland Security looms

By  MARY CLARE JALONICK, KEVIN FREKING and SEUNG MIN KIMUpdated 9:56 PM CST, February 9, 2026

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders said late Monday that a proposal from the White House is “incomplete and insufficient” as they are demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown just days before funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that a White House counterproposal to the list of demands they transmitted over the weekend “included neither details nor legislative text” and does not address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” The White House proposal was not released publicly.

The Democrats’ statement comes as time is running short, with another partial government shutdown threatening to begin Saturday. Among the Democrats’ demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards and a stop to racial profiling. They say such changes are necessary after two protesters were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.

Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed optimism about the rare negotiations between Democrats and the White House, saying there was “forward progress.”

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Thune said it was a good sign that the two sides were trading papers, and “hopefully they can find some common ground here.”

But coming to an agreement on the the charged issue of immigration enforcement will be difficult, especially as rank-and-file lawmakers in both parties were skeptical about finding common ground.

Republicans have balked at the Democrats’ requests and some have demands of their own, including the addition of legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote and restrictions on cities that they say do not do enough to crack down on illegal immigration.