Border Patrol says enforcement in Minneapolis ‘continues unabated’
U.S. Border Patrol Commander. Gregory Bovino said immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis will continue “despite yesterday’s tragedy.”
The possibility of a partial government shutdown has accelerated in recent days as Senate Democrats rally to defeat a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security following the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal officer.
Hours after a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Preti during a protest in Minneapolis on January 24, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats would not support keeping the government completely open while funding DHS. Since then, Senate Democrats have called on Republican senators to work together to advance the remaining five funding bills out of a total of six bills while working to rewrite the DHS bill.
“In the wake of the horrific murders of Renee Good and Alex Preti on the streets of Minneapolis, Republicans must join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public,” Schumer said in a statement on January 25. “People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”
Preti’s death was the second fatal shooting this month and the third fatal shooting by federal agents in the Twin Cities. On January 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during a protest.
Here’s what you need to know about the impending partial closure.
Senate Democrats reject DHS funding
Congress has been staring at a Jan. 30 deadline for weeks to pass spending bills to keep the government running. It’s been about two and a half months since the last shutdown ended in November after a record 43 days.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to send the $1.2 trillion spending package to the Senate on January 22, but Democratic frustrations over DHS funding provisions have been simmering for weeks in the wake of Goode’s death. Republicans largely supported the DHS funding bill with support from seven Democrats.
The remaining spending bills were passed with significant bipartisan cooperation. They fund programs for other agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Education. The measure largely rejects many of the cuts promoted by the Trump administration.
The package currently needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. Republicans hold a majority in the Senate with 53 seats, while Democrats hold 47 seats, including two independent senators who caucus with Democrats.
House leadership has bundled these measures together, and Senate Democrats are calling on Republicans to repeal the DHS funding provisions.
The lack of a majority, coupled with growing anger and outspoken criticism from some Senate Republicans over DHS and the administration’s federal crackdown, puts the future of this funding package in jeopardy.
The weather is rapidly increasing towards the 11th hour.
There had already been an 11-hour scramble in Congress to pass the final spending bill within a week, by a deadline of Friday, January 30th. Even before news of Preeti’s death broke, weather-related disruptions were already straining the schedule. The Senate vote on Monday, Jan. 26, was canceled due to the winter storm, and lawmakers will be out of town until at least Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Anger is growing even among non-Democrats. Some in the president’s party are calling for a full investigation into the shooting, while others say the president’s immigration operations in Minneapolis should be suspended.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) called for an investigation into Preti’s death over the weekend and expressed regret over the actions of the Department of Homeland Security.
Sen. Angus King, an independent representing Maine, suggested in a Jan. 25 interview with CBS that he might work with Democrats to block a bipartisan spending package on DHS funding. Congress has a weekend deadline to pass a spending bill and avert a partial shutdown.
“It’s not American to intimidate protesters by making them wear masks and telling them not to take pictures of what they’re doing,” King said. “These people are acting outside the Constitution. They are ignoring our laws, and we cannot continue to support them.”
Contributor: Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
