Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hold a joint news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Schumer laid out congressional Democrats' requirements for their support of a full-year DHS funding bill, which varied little from the same list of demands he unveiled last week. The only difference now is that he had a buy-in from House Democrats.
Among the demands are an end to roving patrols, oversight by state and local governments where ICE and DHS are operating, along with the right to sue. Lastly, Schumer demanded that there be "no secret police."
"I find it amazing that the Speaker of the House, [is] saying… they should be allowed to have masks," Schumer said. "This group, which needs to be identified more than any other group, should have a standard much more lenient and hidden than other police forces?"
THUNE BLASTS JEFFRIES, SCHUMER AS 'AFRAID OF THEIR SHADOWS' AS DHS FUNDING FIGHT HEATS UP
President Donald Trump arrives at a ceremony renaming a portion of Southern Boulevard for him at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 16, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
The negotiations over the funding bill are expected to largely take place in the Senate, and Republicans are skeptical that Democrats will negotiate in good faith, given that they abandoned an already bipartisan bill and Jeffries' defection from Schumer over the Trump-backed spending deal.
But Democrats argue that their demands aren't too burdensome, and should be accomplished with legislation, not through executive action at the White House.
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"These are just some of the commonsense proposals that the American people clearly would like to see in terms of the dramatic changes that are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before there is a full-year appropriations bill," Jeffries said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-jeffries-mend-rift-present-united-front-dhs-reforms-deadline-nears