Democrats Say White House ICE Proposal Is 'Insufficient' as Homeland Security Funding Nears Expiry
Hello and welcome to the live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.
Democratic leaders have described a White House proposal regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “incomplete and insufficient,” demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement late Monday, criticizing the White House counterproposal to their list of demands made over the weekend. They noted it “included neither details nor legislative text” and failed to address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” The White House proposal has not been made public.
The Democrats’ response comes amid a looming deadline, with the potential for another partial government shutdown starting Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Their demands include requirements for judicial warrants, improved identification of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers, new use-of-force standards, and an end to racial profiling. These changes are sought following the fatal shooting of two protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed cautious optimism about the ongoing negotiations between Democrats and the White House, stating there was “forward progress.”
Thune remarked that the exchange of proposals was a positive sign, saying, “hopefully they can find some common ground here.” However, he acknowledged that reaching an agreement on the contentious issue of immigration enforcement would be challenging, especially as many lawmakers from both parties remain skeptical.
Numerous Democrats, angered by ICE’s aggressive enforcement, have declared they will not support further Homeland Security funding unless enforcement is significantly scaled back. Jeffries stated earlier Monday,
“Dramatic changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before a DHS funding bill moves forward. Period. Full stop.”
President Donald Trump threatened to block a new bridge connecting the US and Canada, which he had supported in 2017, and made an unfounded claim that increased trade between Canada and China would include a total ban on Canadians playing ice hockey.
The Miami Herald reported that a partially redacted document from Jeffrey Epstein’s files includes an account of a 2006 phone call in which Trump told the Palm Beach police chief that “everyone has known” about Epstein’s abuse of girls and that Ghislaine Maxwell “is evil.” Trump has since stated he was unaware of Epstein’s abuse and wished Maxwell well.
An immigration judge rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested last year during a crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists, according to her lawyers.
The US military’s Southern Command, responsible for operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, conducted another deadly strike on Monday, killing two suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific.
A federal judge in California issued an injunction blocking part of a new state law that bans federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces.
Police departments across the US are quietly using school district security cameras to assist in President Trump’s expansive immigration enforcement campaign, an investigation by The 74 reveals.
Hundreds of thousands of audit logs over a month show police searching a national database of automated license plate reader data, including footage from school cameras, for immigration-related investigations.
The audit logs originate from school districts contracting with Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company that manufactures artificial intelligence-powered license plate readers and other surveillance technologies. Flock’s cameras capture license plate numbers, timestamps, and other identifying details, which are uploaded to a cloud server. Customers, including schools, can decide whether to share their data with other police agencies in Flock’s national network.
Multiple law enforcement leaders acknowledged that the searches documented in the audit logs were conducted to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in enforcing federal immigration laws. The Trump administration’s aggressive DHS crackdown has had significant impact.
Educators, parents, and students have been affected, with immigrant families targeted during enforcement actions. School parking lots are among the locations where these cameras operate, alongside other community sites such as utility poles at intersections and busy commercial streets.
The data raises concerns about the extent to which campus surveillance technology intended for student safety is being repurposed to support immigration enforcement.
A federal judge on Monday blocked a California law from taking effect that would prohibit federal immigration agents from covering their faces, though agents will still be required to display clear identification showing their agency and badge number.
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings under a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, following high-profile ICE raids in Los Angeles last summer.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law, arguing it threatens officer safety amid harassment, doxing, and violence. The DOJ claimed the law was unconstitutional because it regulated the federal government directly. The agency maintained that federal officers should have the choice to wear face coverings.
The Justice Department stated in its lawsuit,
“Denying federal agencies and officers that choice would chill federal law enforcement and deter applicants for law enforcement positions.”
Judge Christina Snyder ruled that the mask ban discriminated against the federal government because it did not apply equally to state and local law enforcement authorities.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the ruling a “key court victory” in a social media post, stating federal agents are “attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs.” She added that the Justice Department “will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he will prioritize discussions on negotiations with Iran during his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington this week.
Netanyahu said,
“On this trip we will discuss a range of issues: Gaza, the region, but of course first and foremost the negotiations with Iran. I will present to the president our views regarding the principles for the negotiations.”He will meet Trump on Wednesday.
The meeting follows recent talks between Iran and the United States in Oman last week, after which Trump indicated another round of negotiations would occur, according to AFP.
Trump Threatens to Block Previously Endorsed Bridge as 'Vital Economic Link'
Donald Trump last night threatened to block a bridge connecting the US and Canada and made a false claim that increased trade between Canada and China would include a ban on Canadians playing ice hockey.
Trump began his latest criticism of the US’s second-largest trading partner by asserting,
“everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades.”
The president also threatened to block the scheduled opening of the $4.6 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. The bridge is a binational project approved during the Obama administration and began construction in 2018, during Trump’s presidency.
Trump wrote on Monday,
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.”
Trump had publicly endorsed the bridge project in 2017 before construction began, both in public comments and a joint statement with then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The joint statement, dated 13 February 2017, said,
“No two countries share deeper or broader relations than Canada and the United States. Given our shared focus on infrastructure investments, we will encourage opportunities for companies in both countries to create jobs through those investments. In particular, we look forward to the expeditious completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will serve as a vital economic link between our two countries.”
