House Democrats are turning against the Homeland Security funding bill en masse in the aftermath of the killing of Renee Good and a wider backlash against ICE’s treatment of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike.
Many Democrats feel that voting for any FY2026 funding for DHS is a non-starter and are increasingly in favor of enacting a continuing resolution for the department.
“Right now, there’s no bipartisan path forward for the Department of Homeland Security,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Wednesday. But Jeffries acknowledged that appropriators were still negotiating over the issue.
Appropriators are holding out hope for some deal that would be palatable to the broader Democratic caucus. The challenge, however, is crafting a bipartisan bill that provides no new funding for ICE and adds accountability measures — dealbreakers for many Republicans. It would also be difficult for Democratic members to explain to their base why they still ultimately voted to fund ICE.
“We will do our best to address the concerns that Democrats have,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas), the top House Democrat on the DHS funding bill. “Negotiations were going well before the shooting. We need to address the issue and are working on language on that.”
But even top appropriators are drawing red lines on giving ICE more funds, as Republicans have been pushing for.
“ICE has enough money,” top Senate Appropriations Committee Democrat Patty Murray (Wash.) said. “We’re not giving them any more.”
Murray was referring to the fact that Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act included tens of billions of dollars in new funding, money that is being used by President Donald Trump and his administration to fund a nationwide immigration crackdown.
This includes hiring thousands of new ICE agents and building new detention centers. At the same time, ICE is making it harder for lawmakers to inspect those facilities.
In the battlegrounds. House Democrats representing purple districts are divided over how to vote next week.
“There’s mixed feelings right now from the discussions that I’ve been in,” Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said. “Some will and some won’t. I think we’re going to potentially see a split.”
Frontliners have been discussing whether to fund the package. While many are alarmed over ICE’s actions — including another shooting incident Wednesday night — some Democrats are wary of withholding money that is necessary for unrelated security issues.
“Obviously I’m not in favor of defunding critically important national security priorities,” said Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman, who represents a swing seat in Virginia.
But Vindman also expressed concern over ICE’s actions and said that he’d need to see what was actually in the legislation.
“I have great concerns,” Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.) said of the DHS bill. “But I know that there’s talk about changes. If those changes are to decrease the ICE funding significantly than what was in that reconciliation bill, I support that.”
