Democrats Can't Let Up on DHS Funding

They must challenge the GOP and make Trump and his minions do the right thing: agree to common-sense reforms most Americans support.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security stopped on February 13; a spending plan passed by Congress and signed by Donald Trump excluded the department, as congressional Democrats demanded a series of reforms of the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol agents and their leaders in return for funding. The reforms were, of course, a response to the lawless and unconstitutional actions of some ICE and CBP agents and the lies about their conduct perpetrated by leaders like Greg Bovino, then the commander at large for the CBP.

The Democrats’ demands are not extreme. They started with requiring these law enforcement people to behave like all other law enforcement officers in the country — like local and state police: no masks, visible identification, body cameras on while on duty — along with reasonable standards for accountability and independent investigation of violent actions, up to and including deaths caused while on or off duty. They included commitments to abide by legal restraints imposed by judges, no racial profiling, and, crucially, commitment to abide by the Fourth Amendment — no breaking down doors and entering private property without probable cause and a judicial warrant.

(Douglas Rissing/iStock)

But both the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress refused these elements, including a particular refusal to even countenance the idea of judicial warrants before unreasonable searches and seizures. Negotiations, if there have been any serious ones, have gone nowhere. The department, which includes, besides ICE and CBP, cybersecurity, transportation security, disaster management, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service, remains operational, but many employees are not being paid while the funding is in abeyance. They will get back pay, but the hardship is real for those living paycheck to paycheck.

It would be very easy to end this impasse: Republicans could agree to humane and reasonable changes. But that appears not to be on the table. This week, Trump and his Republican allies have turned up the heat. First, it is the drumbeat of coordinated attacks on Democrats — we are at war and Democrats continue to hamstring our capacity to protect the homeland. Second, the Transportation Security Administration is seeing impossible bottlenecks at airports, with some requiring three hours or more for passengers to get through security to catch flights, and Republicans are blaming Democrats for the massive disruptions.

Until now, most Americans have been oblivious to this stalemate and drama — nothing material has changed in their daily lives, and the story has been largely absent from the media. But the coordinated message attacks from Republicans and the deliberate disruptions in travel will change that, and not in a good way. Republicans want Democrats to cave, funding the full department without any of the reforms to rein in a lawless and out-of-control paramilitary force.

It is time — actually, past time — for Democrats to seize the initiative and do what they rarely do: Create their own powerful narrative to challenge the GOP one and make Trump and his minions do the right thing — by agreeing to common-sense reforms embraced by most Americans.

What does that mean? First and foremost, it means every Democrat in the House and Senate using every vehicle available to make clear that they will fund fully TSA, FEMA, and every other part of DHS immediately — except for ICE and CBP. That includes all House Democrats co-sponsoring Rosa DeLauro’s bill to do just that and then pushing a discharge petition to get a vote on the House floor — while pointing out every Republican who refuses to sign the discharge petition and therefore is willing to keep those vital agencies without funds. It means every Senate Democrat (except for the sad case of Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman) going on the Senate floor every day and asking unanimous consent to fund immediately those components. Let Senate Republicans deny that unanimous consent and take on the onus of keeping the employees from being paid and creating disruptions, not just in air travel but also in response to natural disasters and to threats of cyber terror.

And it also means reframing the confrontation. All those demanding immediate funding of the whole department without reforms are in effect endorsing masked thugs dragging American citizens out of cars, beating them up, lying about their violence, and sending the victims to detention camps; lurking outside schools and inside courthouses to grab non-violent immigrants, many complying with every legal process appropriately; using little children as hostages or bait to lure out their parents and seize them; killing people while taking and destroying evidence and refusing any accountability; using pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other awful weapons on crowds of innocent bystanders; following, intimidating, and threatening people who are lawfully observing and recording their actions; breaking into houses by blowing up their doors to go after people without probable cause or legal warrants; and more.

Hearings in Washington and around the country to underscore, document, and dramatize these horrific behaviors, including in red states and districts, and appearances on television, in podcasts, and throughout social media can help. If the dominant narrative is that Democrats are responsible for disruptions and dangers, the outcome will not be good. If Democrats can do what they should, it can shift the narrative to where it belongs. Fund TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard now, and make it clear that Republicans, including House and Senate leaders and administration officials, want to keep abusing innocent people; violate laws, judges’ orders, and the Constitution; and continue their violent ways. It is they who are holding airport security, disaster response, and safety on the seas hostage to keep doing so.

Norman Ornstein is a political scientist, co-host of the podcast “Words Matter,” and author of books, including “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.”

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