Democrats Demand Unmasked Agents, New Limits to Fund D.H.S.

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/politics/ice-body-cam-masks-dhs-funding.html

https://archive.ph/3yQxR

Democrats Demand Unmasked Agents, New Limits to Fund D.H.S.
Ahead of a Friday shutdown deadline, Democrats laid out their conditions for funding the Department of Homeland Security, including new restrictions on immigration officers.
By Carl Hulse and Catie Edmondson
Jan. 28, 2026, 7:26 p.m. ET

Senate Democrats on Wednesday demanded that federal agents carrying out President Trump’s immigration crackdown take off their masks and stop warrantless searches and arrests, laying out a list of conditions they said must be attached to a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security ahead of a Friday shutdown deadline.

In the aftermath of two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, presented Republicans with a specific proposal that Democrats said they would insist on in exchange for their votes.

In addition to a prohibition on federal officers wearing masks, they also demanded that the agents wear body cameras and carry identification. Their proposal would put an end to roving patrols and require warrants issued by a judge for arrests and searches.

Democrats also want the federal agents to be subject to the same use-of-force policies that apply to local and state law enforcement agencies, which require those involved in violent incidents to be subject to independent investigations if they are accused of wrongdoing.

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