Democrats are laying out demands for immigration enforcement changes, with increasing tensions and a push from the Trump administration for billions more in funding.
Members from both the Senate and the House have made clear they will not vote for continued funding of the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and detention agencies without considerable reform.
This comes after two incidents in recent weeks where two civilians were killed by ICE agents, sparking nationwide protests and backlash.
President Donald Trump has given a huge boost in funding to ICE as part of his second term, with US$85 billion now at the disposal of the agency, but funding for the department expires on 13 February.
This week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, have put forward reform demands as part of funding talks.
These include identification for immigration agents, body cameras, warrants signed by a judge to be required, and more.
Mike Johnson, a Republican and Speaker of the House, has already opposed two of the non-negotiable items on the Democrats' list: The removal of immigration agents’ masks and the requirement of judge-approved warrants.
