Schumer says Dems will shut down government over funding for DHS

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer announced on Saturday that Senate Democrats will not vote for the coming appropriations bill to keep the government open if funding for the Department of Homeland Security is included in funding. This comes after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis in which ICE, and on Saturday Border Patrol, shot agitators who were obstructing immigration enforcement. The deadline to fund the government is January 30.

"What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling—and unacceptable in any American city," Schumer said. "Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no. Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included."

CBS reports that Sens. Chris Murphy and Alex Padilla have been busy working the phones over the past few days to get Democrat colleagues on board with opposing DHS funding in the new appropriations package. A caucus call is expected on Sunday evening as the shutdown deadline looms.

The operations in Minnesota are part of the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts after four years in which the Biden administration flung open the borders and let in an estimated 10 to 20 million illegal immigrants to the United States. Trump ran on a platform of removing these people from the country.

Schumer also declared "ICE out of Minnesota NOW." Minnesota is a so-called sanctuary state in which local law enforcement if prevented from cooperating with federal law enforcement for the purpose of securing and handing over illegal immigrant criminals who have immigration detainers, meaning that they can be deported.

Activist Alex Pretti was shot and killed in a confrontation with Border Patrol on Saturday. Pretti, 37, was an ICU nurse with the US Department of Veterans Affairs. DHS said that he was armed and "violently resisted" when agents tried to remove his weapon. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. 

Video shows that Pretti was holding a phone in his hand when he was shot. He had a permit to carry a gun. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agents fired "defensive shots" after "an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun." Agents had been trying to arrest illegal immigrant Jose Huerta-Chuma, who had a violent criminal history in the US.

Pretti became involved in the protests after the shooting death of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE agent when she was blocking the street with her minivan and attempted to ram into the agent who opened fire. 

Schumer's New York colleague Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised the move, saying "This is the strength of response we need. People’s calls and organizing worked. Thank you to all who mobilized. No action is ever too small. This is why we never give up. Thank you Senate Dems."

Senate Democrats shut down the government in the fall of 2025 over subsidies for health insurance premiums. Protests in Minnesota have been ongoing since Good's death earlier this month.