DHS Pledges Not To Deport Any U.S. Citizens if Congress Ends Shutdown |
DHS
DHS Pledges Not To Deport Any U.S. Citizens if Congress Ends Shutdown
In a letter to senators, the administration offered five concessions—two of which were simply that going forward, officers would follow the law.
Joe Lancaster | 3.18.2026 4:05 PM
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(Illustration: Adani Samat/Dreamstime/Envato)
After officers of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shot and killed two American citizens in January, Democratic lawmakers threatened to let the department's funding lapse unless it changed its practices. As a result, the DHS shut down in February, and lawmakers have engaged with the Trump administration over what it would take to reopen.
This week, officials offered five concessions—two of which were just pledges to follow the law.
In February, Rep. Hakeem Jefferies (D–N.Y.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.)—each the Democratic leaders of their respective chambers—sent a list of demands to their Republican counterparts. Before Democrats would vote to fund the DHS, Republicans must agree to 10 "guardrails" against the department's overreach.
These included banning officers from wearing face masks, requiring that they display their name and agency on their uniforms, and ending racial profiling of suspects. It also asked the department to work more closely with local authorities, institute "a reasonable use of force policy," and "regulate and standardize the type of uniforms and equipment DHS officers carry during enforcement........