Senate Democrats who pushed for tougher immigration reforms are now holding their tongues when it comes to criticizing Schumer's more lenient package.
In a joint letter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked for Department of Homeland Security reforms that would leave the agency's budget untouched. The request includes measures such as prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks or entering homes without a warrant.
However, congressional Republicans have dismissed these reforms out of hand.
The shift in tone comes after progressive Democrats had been calling for more significant changes to the agency, including cutting funding for Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
But even though they are no longer pushing for such drastic measures, progressive Democrats are still hesitant to criticize their party leadership on this issue.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said that her priority is stopping the violence committed by ICE agents against American communities. "If it were up to me, we would be rewriting the whole immigration laws and policies," she said.
However, Schumer's proposal does not include some of the more progressive demands made by his colleagues in Congress, such as cutting funding for ICE and CBP.
Instead, Schumer has suggested that he might allow agents to wear masks in certain circumstances.
The GOP has already ruled out banning masks or requiring warrants from ICE agents.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have expressed their concerns about the lack of transparency in DHS's operations. Senator Katie Britt called the demands "a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press."
In response, Schumer's leadership team is trying to negotiate with the White House to get more support for their proposal.
However, some Democrats are already saying that they will not vote for any more funding if it includes provisions that benefit the agency.
The Intercept can confirm that Republican leaders have shown no willingness to negotiate on key Democratic requests.
In a joint letter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked for Department of Homeland Security reforms that would leave the agency's budget untouched. The request includes measures such as prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks or entering homes without a warrant.
However, congressional Republicans have dismissed these reforms out of hand.
The shift in tone comes after progressive Democrats had been calling for more significant changes to the agency, including cutting funding for Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
But even though they are no longer pushing for such drastic measures, progressive Democrats are still hesitant to criticize their party leadership on this issue.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said that her priority is stopping the violence committed by ICE agents against American communities. "If it were up to me, we would be rewriting the whole immigration laws and policies," she said.
However, Schumer's proposal does not include some of the more progressive demands made by his colleagues in Congress, such as cutting funding for ICE and CBP.
Instead, Schumer has suggested that he might allow agents to wear masks in certain circumstances.
The GOP has already ruled out banning masks or requiring warrants from ICE agents.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have expressed their concerns about the lack of transparency in DHS's operations. Senator Katie Britt called the demands "a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press."
In response, Schumer's leadership team is trying to negotiate with the White House to get more support for their proposal.
However, some Democrats are already saying that they will not vote for any more funding if it includes provisions that benefit the agency.
The Intercept can confirm that Republican leaders have shown no willingness to negotiate on key Democratic requests.
. I mean, cutting off funding for ICE and CBP would've been a solid move, but he went for a more watered-down approach instead 
. It's like they're trying to please everyone at once, but that just doesn't work in politics 
. And can we talk about how some Democrats are still hesitant to criticize Schumer? That's just weird 
. I get that they want to support their party leadership, but come on, when it comes to tough issues like immigration reform, you gotta take a stand 
. It's not all about being popular or getting re-elected, it's about doing what's right for the country 
.
Its gotta be tough to see Schumer's proposal come together and know that some of their own ideas are being left on the table... 
I hope whoever is in charge at DHS can bring some much needed transparency to the agency, thats what its all about 
, those progressives were all like "cut funding 4 ICE & CBP" but now theyre holdin back & Schumer's just tryna appease the GOP lol 
, I get it Schumer wants to stop ice violence but can't he just do something about it instead of wafflin on a proposal? 
! That's insane. And get this - the number of ICE complaints to the FBI has increased by 400% since 2017 
. Schumer's proposal might be a step in the right direction, but it's still a long way off from addressing these systemic issues.
. Not much has changed for 2025, which is just $45.6 billion 
. It's like they're trying to keep things as "status quo" as possible. Meanwhile, ICE and CBP have seen significant funding increases over the past few years 
.
. It's like they're playing a game of whack-a-mole - they fix one issue, but another pops up in its place.
And btw, has anyone seen that new Marvel movie? 
meanwhile senator elizabeth warren is still all about stopping the violence against american communities 
and i feel her but at the same time, dems need to be realistic about getting stuff done 
. meanwhile, Schumer's proposal doesn't even include cutting funding for ICE and CBP 
. anyway, here's some data on DHS budget: since 2017, it's increased by 25% 
Like, I get it Schumer's proposal has some good stuff like prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks or entering homes without a warrant... but come on, where's the teeth? 
It's all about optics when they say they're making changes to show the public that they care. But really, are we just gonna pretend that ICE is a force for good again? 
. And don't even get me started on Senate Democrats being too scared to go against Schumer. Like, where was this courage when they were pushing for tougher reforms? 
.
. And honestly, I'm a bit worried about the lack of transparency in DHS's ops - how are we supposed to trust them if we don't know what they're doing? 
.
shouldn't we know more about how our agencies are run? 
I mean, senator Warren said we should be rewriting immigration laws and policies from scratch, not just tweaking around the edges 
. And now some dems are saying they won't vote for more funding if it benefits DHS? 
that's a total bummer. I feel like Schumer's leadership is trying too hard to find common ground with the GOP, you know? 
... like, shouldn't they be all upset about ICE agents wearing masks and entering homes without warrants? 
It seems to me that some of their priorities are getting lost in the mix. I know they're still pushing for changes, but it feels like they're being really quiet about it lately 
. And can we talk about how frustrating it is that Senate Democrats are basically shutting up about this now? It feels like they were all on board with something and then Schumer just...changed the script 
. Anyways, I hope they're able to get some real concessions from the White House on these reforms 
.
. I get why they wouldn't want to rock the boat, but like, can't we just have a straight conversation about how ICE agents are basically terrorizing communities? 
It feels like Schumer's proposal is all about appeasing the GOP and just getting things done without making waves 
. We need real change here, not just a bunch of token reforms that don't actually do anything.
. It feels like they're playing it safe instead of taking a stand on the issues they care about. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making DHS reforms happen, but this feels kinda watered down to me 
.