WASHINGTON — Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies carrying out President Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.
Congress is discussing potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after officers shot and killed two people in Minneapolis in January. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated their party’s demands on Wednesday, with Schumer telling reporters that Congress must “rein in ICE in very serious ways, and end the violence.”
Democrats are “drawing a line in the sand” as Republicans need their votes to continue the funding, Jeffries said.
The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have rocked Minnesota and other states. But finding real agreement in such a short time will be difficult, if not “an impossibility,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday.
Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding for Homeland Security be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for the federal agents. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this weekend that he was at the White House when Trump spoke with Schumer and that they were “on the path to get agreement.”
But it’s unclear whether the president or enough congressional Republicans will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the officers unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.
And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and other Republican senators are pushing for restrictions on sanctuary cities that they say don’t do enough to crack down on illegal immigration. There’s no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
It’s also uncertain whether Democrats who are furious over the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operations would be willing to compromise.
“Republicans need to get serious,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, adding that they will propose “tough, strong legislation” in the next day.
A look at Democrats’ demands and what Republicans are saying about them:
Agreement on body cameras
Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change that was already in the underlying Homeland Security spending bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up on Monday when she ordered body-worn cameras to be issued to every DHS officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE. She said the policy would expand nationwide as funding becomes available.
The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.
Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, said that most agents are “very supportive” of cameras because they could help exonerate officers. But he added that complex questions remain, including when footage should be released and when cameras must be activated.
“When do you turn it on? And if you got into a problem and didn’t have it on, are you going to be disciplined? It’s really pretty complex,” he said.
Schumer said Tuesday that the body cameras “need to stay on.”
Disagreement on masking
As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has become a flash point. Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and threats.
“State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security. “I mean, what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?”
But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.
“Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that,” Johnson said on Tuesday. He added that if you “unmask them and you put all their identifying information on their uniform, they will obviously be targeted.”
Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” according to federal regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.
Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the regulations.
“We just see routinely that that’s not happening,” said Nithya Nathan Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Judicial vs. administrative warrants
Democrats have also demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and an end to roving patrols of agents who are targeting people in the streets and in their homes. Schumer said Tuesday that they want “arrest warrants and an end to racial profiling.”
Most immigration arrests are carried out under administrative warrants, internal documents issued by immigration authorities that authorize the arrest of a specific person but do not permit officers to forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent. Traditionally, only warrants signed by judges carry that authority.
But an internal ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press last month authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with 4th Amendment protections.
Democrats have not made clear how broadly they want judicial warrants used. Jeffries of New York said that Democrats want to see “an end to the targeting of sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals.”
Johnson said Tuesday that Democrats are trying to “add an entirely new layer” by seeking warrants signed by a judge rather than the administrative warrants that are signed by the department. “We can’t do that,” he said.
The speaker has said that an end to roving patrols is a potential area of agreement, but he did not give details.
Code of conduct and more accountability
Democrats have also called for a uniform code of conduct for all ICE and federal agents similar to that for state and local law enforcement officers.
Federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, demanded that the state be allowed to take part, saying that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.
Hoping for a miracle
Any deal Democrats strike on the Department of Homeland Security is unlikely to satisfy everyone in the party. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said she would never support an agreement that didn’t require unmasking.
“I ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE,” Pressley said. “My position has not changed.”
Thune, of South Dakota, has repeatedly said it’s an “impossibility” to negotiate and pass something so complicated in two weeks. He said any talks should be between Democrats and Trump.
“I don’t think it’s very realistic,” Thune said Tuesday about finding quick agreement. “But there’s always miracles, right?”
Jalonick and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press. AP writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.
LAPD to train their body cameras on immigration agents, under mayor’s directive
Los Angeles police officers must turn on their body cameras at the scene of federal immigration enforcement operations and preserve the footage, according to an executive directive issued by Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday.
Since June, federal immigration raids have disrupted neighborhoods and communities across Los Angeles and around the nation, including at work sites, along neighborhood streets and in commercial areas.
Often, police officers have responded to the scene to try to keep order amid tensions between immigration agents and community members.
“The point that we’re trying to make here is that ICE enforcement is not welcome here,” Bass said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We have resisted against it since this terror started, and we will continue to do that.”
In addition to recording the federal immigration agents’ actions, LAPD officers must document the name and badge number of the agents’ on-scene supervisor, summon emergency personnel if someone at a scene is injured and take reports from the public about federal agents’ alleged misconduct, Bass’ five-page directive states.
The directive also prohibits federal immigration agents from using city property and imposes a fee on owners who allow federal agents to use private property.
The effort builds on a previous Bass directive that aimed to restrict the city from assisting federal immigration agents. The LAPD has a long-standing policy that its officers should not be involved in immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bass noted that officers are supposed to turn on their body cameras anyway, including when they’re responding to a call from the public or when another law enforcement agency asks for assistance.
“We’re saying we really want you to do that, even if you are there and there’s not a disturbance that breaks out, if you’re there on the scene,” Bass said.
The LAPD did not immediately provide comment. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, did not respond to a request for comment.
In Chicago, the mayor issued a similar directive in January, instructing the Police Department to “investigate and document” alleged illegal activity by federal agents, said Tania Unzueta, political director of Mijente, a national group that organizes within Latino and Chicano communities.
“ICE’s power must be challenged at every level, and local governments have a critical role to play in holding the line against federal enforcement,” Unzueta said.
But in Los Angeles, immigrant rights advocates expressed concerns about requiring the LAPD to police another agency.
Maegan Ortiz, executive director of the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California, or IDEPSCA, cited the LAPD’s history of using excessive force against civilians and said that in the recent immigration raids, officers have sometimes inflamed instead of defused tensions.
“Are they really the best people to determine what is excessive use of force, given the literal millions of dollars that we’re seeing paid out in settlement because of use of force by LAPD?” Ortiz said. “Can we trust this police department to police others when they can’t police themselves?”
James “Jim” Willis, a former LAPD detective who later worked for the L.A. Police Commission’s inspector general’s office, said he agreed with the directive’s intent: to bring greater accountability to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. But he has questions about how it would work in practice.
For one thing, he said, it’s unclear whether LAPD officers are supposed to respond whenever an ICE operation is underway. Doing so would put further strain on a department that is down hundreds of officers from a few years ago, he said.
It’s also unclear what will happen with the recorded footage.
“Who’s going to audit this?” he asked. “Do you now create a new group, a new division and new section?”
Since rolling out the tiny recording devices in 2015, the city has spent millions of dollars, both on the body cameras themselves and data storage for the digital files. LAPD officials have conceded that the vast majority of the footage gathered by officers goes unwatched, since there isn’t enough manpower to review it.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Jocelyn Duarte, executive director of the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund, praised Bass’ directive and called on the Los Angeles Board of Commissioners, which provides civilian oversight of the LAPD, to ensure that officers “protect Angelenos from lawless federal conduct.”
“Local law enforcement must not be complicit through silence or inaction when federal agents overstep legal and ethical boundaries,” Duarte said. “Now it is imperative that our commission and LAPD fully implement this directive and make it clear that our city will not allow for fear-based enforcement to define life in our neighborhoods.”
Ortiz said she is excited that the directive imposes fees on private property owners who allow federal immigration agents to use their property. The Institute of Popular Education of Southern California has been a leader in calling for a boycott against Home Depot, which has not taken a public stance against repeated raids at the day labor centers that the organization runs at the stores.
“I do think that something does need to be done with these huge billion-dollar corporations who are allowing this and are choosing to stay silent while their customers are being dragged away and disappeared,” Ortiz said.
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Democrats demand ‘dramatic changes’ for ICE regarding masks, cameras, warrants
WASHINGTON — Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies carrying out President Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country.
Congress is discussing potential new rules for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after officers shot and killed two people in Minneapolis in January. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated their party’s demands on Wednesday, with Schumer telling reporters that Congress must “rein in ICE in very serious ways, and end the violence.”
Democrats are “drawing a line in the sand” as Republicans need their votes to continue the funding, Jeffries said.
The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have rocked Minnesota and other states. But finding real agreement in such a short time will be difficult, if not “an impossibility,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday.
Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding for Homeland Security be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for the federal agents. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this weekend that he was at the White House when Trump spoke with Schumer and that they were “on the path to get agreement.”
But it’s unclear whether the president or enough congressional Republicans will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the officers unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.
And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and other Republican senators are pushing for restrictions on sanctuary cities that they say don’t do enough to crack down on illegal immigration. There’s no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
It’s also uncertain whether Democrats who are furious over the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operations would be willing to compromise.
“Republicans need to get serious,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, adding that they will propose “tough, strong legislation” in the next day.
A look at Democrats’ demands and what Republicans are saying about them:
Agreement on body cameras
Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change that was already in the underlying Homeland Security spending bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up on Monday when she ordered body-worn cameras to be issued to every DHS officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE. She said the policy would expand nationwide as funding becomes available.
The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.
Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, said that most agents are “very supportive” of cameras because they could help exonerate officers. But he added that complex questions remain, including when footage should be released and when cameras must be activated.
“When do you turn it on? And if you got into a problem and didn’t have it on, are you going to be disciplined? It’s really pretty complex,” he said.
Schumer said Tuesday that the body cameras “need to stay on.”
Disagreement on masking
As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has become a flash point. Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and threats.
“State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security. “I mean, what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?”
But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.
“Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that,” Johnson said on Tuesday. He added that if you “unmask them and you put all their identifying information on their uniform, they will obviously be targeted.”
Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” according to federal regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.
Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the regulations.
“We just see routinely that that’s not happening,” said Nithya Nathan Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Judicial vs. administrative warrants
Democrats have also demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and an end to roving patrols of agents who are targeting people in the streets and in their homes. Schumer said Tuesday that they want “arrest warrants and an end to racial profiling.”
Most immigration arrests are carried out under administrative warrants, internal documents issued by immigration authorities that authorize the arrest of a specific person but do not permit officers to forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent. Traditionally, only warrants signed by judges carry that authority.
But an internal ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press last month authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with 4th Amendment protections.
Democrats have not made clear how broadly they want judicial warrants used. Jeffries of New York said that Democrats want to see “an end to the targeting of sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals.”
Johnson said Tuesday that Democrats are trying to “add an entirely new layer” by seeking warrants signed by a judge rather than the administrative warrants that are signed by the department. “We can’t do that,” he said.
The speaker has said that an end to roving patrols is a potential area of agreement, but he did not give details.
Code of conduct and more accountability
Democrats have also called for a uniform code of conduct for all ICE and federal agents similar to that for state and local law enforcement officers.
Federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, demanded that the state be allowed to take part, saying that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.
Hoping for a miracle
Any deal Democrats strike on the Department of Homeland Security is unlikely to satisfy everyone in the party. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said she would never support an agreement that didn’t require unmasking.
“I ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE,” Pressley said. “My position has not changed.”
Thune, of South Dakota, has repeatedly said it’s an “impossibility” to negotiate and pass something so complicated in two weeks. He said any talks should be between Democrats and Trump.
“I don’t think it’s very realistic,” Thune said Tuesday about finding quick agreement. “But there’s always miracles, right?”
Jalonick and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press. AP writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.
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Miley Cyrus scolded by fans for ‘disrespecting’ Lady Gaga at Grammys in ‘shady’ move caught by live TV cameras
The biggest night in music returned to Los Angeles’ Crypto Arena on 1 February, but who took home the iconic trophies?
Song Of The Year
Billie Eilish – Wildflower
Record Of The Year
Kendrick Lamar feat SZA – Luther
Album Of The Year
Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Best New Artist
Olivia Dean
Best pop vocal album
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Best pop solo performance
Lola Young – Messy
Best pop duo/group performance
Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande – Defying Gravity
Best dance/electronic recording
Tame Impala – End Of Summer
Best dance/electronic album
FKA Twigs – Eusexua
Best dance/pop recording
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Best traditional pop vocal album
Laufey – A Matter Of Time
Best Latin pop album
Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera
Best música urbana album
Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Best rock performance
Yungblud ft Nuno Bettencourt, Frank Bello, Adam Wakeman, II – Changes (Live From Villa Park) Back To The Beginning
Best rock song
Nine Inch Nails – As Alive As You Need Me To Be
Best rock album
Turnstile – Never Enough
Best alternative music album
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
Best alternative music performance
The Cure – Alone
Best metal performance
Turnstile – Birds
Best rap performance
Clipse, Pusha T & Malice feat Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams – Chains & Whips
Best melodic rap performance
Kendrick Lamar with SZA – Luther
Best rap song
Kendrick Lamar feat Lefty Gunplay – TV Off
Best rap album
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Best country solo performance
Chris Stapleton – Bad As I Used To Be
Best country duo/group performance
Shaboozey & Jelly Roll – Amen
Best country song
Tyler Childers – Bitin’ List
Best contemporary country album
Jelly Roll – Beautifully Broken
Best R&B performance
Kehlani – Folded
Best R&B song
Kehlani – Folded
Best R&B album
Leon Thomas – Mutt
Best African music performance
Tyla – Push 2 Start
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Cirkut (Lady Gaga, Rosé, Jade)
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical
Amy Allen (Rosé, Jennie, Sabrina Carpenter)
Best Comedy Album
Nate Bargatze – Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
Sinners – Various artists
Best score soundtrack for visual media (includes film and televison)
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
Best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media
Austin Wintory – Sword of the Sea
Best song written for visual media
Huntr/x – Golden (From K-Pop Demon Hunters)
Best audiobook narration
Dalai Lama – Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Best music video
Doechii – Anxiety
Best Music Film
John Williams – Music by John Williams
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Samara Joy – Portrait
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Sullivan Fortner feat Peter Washington and Marcus Gilmore – Southern Nights
Best Alternative Jazz Album
Nate Smith – Live-Action
Best Jazz Performance
Chich Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade – Windows
Best Musical Theatre Album
Buena Vista Social Club
Best Opera Recording
Heggie: Intelligence – Kwame Ryan, conductor (Houston Grand Opera; Gene Scheer)
Best Orchestral Performance
Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphonie-Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
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