Senators Consider Deal to Fund DHS     03/24 06:21

   Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland Security budget 
stalemate by funding much of the department, including the Transportation 
Security Administration airport workers going without pay, but excluding ICE's 
enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the dispute.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senators are discussing a proposal to end the Homeland 
Security budget stalemate by funding much of the department, including the 
Transportation Security Administration airport workers going without pay, but 
excluding ICE's enforcement and removal operations that have been core to the 
dispute.

   The potential breakthrough came after a group of Republican senators headed 
to the White House late Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. Senators 
said they expected the negotiators to work through the night hammering out the 
details and present written proposals for both parties to discuss Tuesday at 
their weekly caucus lunches.

   "All I can say is that the discussions have been very positive and 
productive, and hopefully headed in the right direction," said Senate Majority 
Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

   Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters late in the evening: 
"Both sides are working in a serious way."

   The sudden shift in the monthlong standoff comes as U.S. airports are jammed 
with long lines after routine Homeland Security funding was halted, leaving TSA 
understaffed during the spring travel season. Democrats are refusing to fund 
Homeland Security without restraints on Trump's immigration enforcement and 
mass deportation operations after the deaths of two U.S. citizens during ICE 
protests in Minneapolis.

   Trump took the extraordinary step over the weekend of ordering Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement officers to provide airport security, drawing alarm 
from some lawmakers that it could escalate tensions.

   The contours of the deal under consideration would fund most of Homeland 
Security, but exclude funding for one main part of ICE -- the enforcement and 
removal operations that are core to Trump's deportation agenda.

   Under the package being floated, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations 
would be funded as well as Customs and Border Protection, but with new 
guardrails to position officers from those divisions in their traditional 
roles, rather than as they have been used more recently in immigration roundups 
in cities. It would also include a number of changes in immigration operations 
that Democrats have demanded, including mandating that officers wear body 
cameras and identification.

   Since so much of ICE is already funded through Trump's big tax breaks bill, 
and immigration officers are still receiving paychecks during the partial 
government shutdown, senators said the new restraints would also be imposed on 
operations that rely on that funding source, as well.

   "I'm going to be working through the night," said Republican Sen. Katie 
Britt of Alabama, a chief negotiator who returned from the White House meeting 
hopeful they had a solution to "land this plane."

   "We're going to be working diligently," she said.

   Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who was not part of the group at the White House, 
said his understanding was that there was a "sense of urgency" coming from the 
talks.

   Coons described various choices before the senators at this point -- from no 
money at all for ICE but also no restraints on the agency operations, to fully 
funding ICE but with more of the restraints Democrats have demanded, to a 
middle option of funding most of DHS excluding ICE's enforcement and removal 
operations. That middle option is what he and other senators understood was 
broadly on the table after the White House talks.

   "First step is to get the proposal in writing," said Sen. Angus King, the 
Independent from Maine. "I want to see exactly what that means."

   Senators late Monday also confirmed Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security 
secretary. He takes over for Kristi Noem, who led the department's immigration 
enforcement operations that erupted with the public outcry and the funding 
standoff.

   Mullin provides a potentially new face for the immigration operation. During 
his confirmation hearing last week, Mullin touched on another key demand 
Democrats want -- ensuring a judge has signed off on warrants that immigration 
officers use to search people's homes, rather than simply relying on 
administrative warrants issued by the department.

   "This is significant," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said about the progress 
toward changes. "Noem is gone. That's a big deal."

   Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he was hopeful senators could work things 
out. "Look, there's a lot of different variables in the equations," he said. 
"I'm hopeful we'll get there."