Senate Democrats are threatening to force another government shutdown to block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the recent fatal shootings in Minnesota.
The anti-ICE unrest in the Democrat-controlled state is rapidly escalating into a high-stakes budget confrontation that could trigger a partial government shutdown.
In just days, Democrats in the upper chamber have coalesced around a strategy to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), placing immigration enforcement squarely at the center of looming government funding negotiations.
Democrats had already been reluctant to support the DHS appropriations bill, which funds ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
After months of negotiations, Senate Republicans had agreed to a fragile compromise that included internal restrictions on DHS operations in order to secure Democratic votes.
That truce collapsed following the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an armed anti-ICE activist who was killed during an immigration enforcement operation over the weekend in Minneapolis.
Following the incident, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that Democrats would refuse to advance the current DHS funding bill, accusing ICE of systemic abuse.
“Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota,” Schumer said in a statement.
Schumer also cited the deaths of Renee Good and Pretti, arguing that the incidents should force a sweeping overhaul of federal immigration enforcement.
The top Democrat attempted to frame the deaths as homicides.
“The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and Customs and Border Protection,” he said.
“People should be safe from abuse by their own government.”
Schumer said Democrats would allow five other funding bills to move forward while demanding DHS be stripped out and rewritten.
“Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill,” he said.
Senate Democrats reportedly discussed the strategy during a closed-door caucus call on Sunday.
A source familiar with the call said the plan is to block any DHS funding unless major changes are made, while proceeding with the rest of the spending package as early as Thursday.
“Basically, DHS is the problem and should be split from the package,” the source said.
Republicans, however, are refusing to budge.
With the government funding deadline approaching on Friday, GOP leaders argue that withholding DHS funding would directly undermine immigration enforcement and border security at a critical moment.
Any changes to the funding package would also require approval from the House, which is not scheduled to return to Washington until early next month.
House Republican leadership has shown no interest in returning early to renegotiate a bipartisan deal.
That leaves Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) tasked with navigating a narrowing path forward as Democrats threaten to block DHS funding outright.
While some Senate Republicans have called for a thorough investigation into the Pretti shooting, none have supported cutting off DHS funding.
A Senate Republican aide told Fox News Digital that GOP leadership is determined to avoid another shutdown.
“We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us,” the aide said.
The standoff underscores a widening partisan divide over immigration enforcement, as Democrats increasingly frame ICE operations as grounds for defunding DHS, despite the agency’s central role in border security and federal law enforcement under President Donald Trump’s administration.
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