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Senate and House minority leaders Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) subtly weakened their already tepid demands for ICE reforms in a press conference on Wednesday — before negotiations with Republicans even started.

In a press conference about the Democrats’ demands, the two leaders reiterated their belief that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration agents should not be allowed to wear masks. But they both qualified their statements by saying that this prohibition isn’t sweeping.

“Certainly I think there’s agreement that no masks should be deployed in an arbitrary and capricious fashion,” said Jeffries.

“They need identification and no masks, except in extraordinary and unusual circumstances,” said Schumer later in the conference, describing masked, unidentified agents as “secret police.”

The press conference took place after the two leaders........

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