Democrats Should Seek DHS Bill Without ICE Money, Hoyer Says (1)

House Democrats should propose full-year funding for most agencies under the Department of Homeland Security while withholding money for immigration enforcement activities as Democrats try to rein in the White House’s aggressive immigration crackdown, a top Democratic appropriator said Thursday.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), a senior appropriator and former majority leader, said he has urged and expects Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee to release a DHS bill “in the next few days” that would fund agencies under the department unrelated to immigration enforcement such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration.

“There’s some things in there that need to be funded,” Hoyer said Thursday at an exclusive Bloomberg Government roundtable with reporters and editors.

“We’re going to hold out until we have an agreement which is why we want to fund the rest. Now the Republicans can oppose it and say you don’t get this, but that’s not a very good political position for them to be in,” he added, arguing the proposal would put the onus of DHS funding on Republicans.

Senate Democrats aren’t a part of the proposal, Hoyer said, but he expects they will back the effort.

“Right now it’s a House effort, but I think the Senate will support it,” he said. “I can’t imagine why the Senate would not be for it.”

House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection’s “lawlessness should not hamper the work of the agencies under the Department that follow the law and do excellent work in service to the American people.” Democrats were “fighting to ensure” that TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency,and the Coast Guard continue operating, she added.

Lawmakers have little time to negotiate a full-year DHS funding bill by the end of Feb. 13, when discretionary funding for the department expires. GOP lawmakers expect another stopgap for the department is inevitable, but House Democrats have ruled out another continuing resolution for Homeland Security without significant changes to ICE and CBP policy.

“We’re in a position of no funding until such time as we reach a deal where ICE and border patrol are acting in a constitutional and legal way,” Hoyer said.