Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Democrats could be “absolutely” willing to risk another Department of Homeland Security funding lapse at the end of September if Republicans do not accept changes to immigration enforcement, including limits on mask-wearing and a judicial-warrant requirement for certain arrests.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Democrats could be prepared to withhold support for the next round of DHS funding unless Republicans agree to a set of immigration enforcement changes, according to a Daily Wire account of his remarks on CNN.
On CNN, anchor Victor Blackwell asked Thompson whether his “absolutely” meant Democrats were willing to see a repeat of the recent funding lapse that left DHS components—including the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard—operating under shutdown conditions, with employees potentially going without pay.
According to the Daily Wire, Thompson pointed to proposed reforms aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including banning masks for certain officers and requiring judicial warrants for immigration-related arrests.
The comments came as Congress moved to reopen most of DHS after a record-length partial shutdown. The House approved a Senate-passed bill on Thursday that funds major DHS agencies—such as FEMA, the Coast Guard, TSA and the Secret Service—through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, and President Donald Trump signed it into law that same day, NBC News reported.
The measure did not include new appropriations for ICE or Customs and Border Protection, outlets including NBC News and Axios reported. Republican leaders have said they intend to address immigration enforcement funding separately through the budget reconciliation process, which can pass the Senate without Democratic votes.
During the shutdown, the Coast Guard warned of mounting operational strain as unpaid bills accumulated. CBS News reported that the service faced growing unpaid obligations and utility disruptions at some facilities, including water outages tied to unpaid utility bills.
Republican officials and outside observers have also pointed to the reconciliation strategy as the next legislative vehicle for additional immigration enforcement funding, while Democrats have argued that any long-term funding should include guardrails on enforcement practices.
