Patty Murray to White House: No Funding Increase for ICE

The top Democratic appropriator draws a clear red line over funding increases for the rogue federal agency terrorizing communities across America.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats have drawn a definitive red line in the high-stakes negotiations over the Homeland Security Appropriations bill: there will be zero funding increases for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The standoff, which threatens to push the government toward a partial shutdown on January 30, pits a determined Republican subcommittee chair against a Democratic leadership core that says it has seen enough “militarized policing” on American streets.

The Battle of the Subcommittee

Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), who leads the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, is fighting “tooth and nail” to expand ICE’s reach. Britt, the architect of the Laken Riley Act, is demanding funding for 4,000 additional detention beds, a move that would significantly expand the agency’s capacity to jail both migrants and, increasingly, U.S. citizens ensnared in interior enforcement sweeps.

However, the Democratic wall appears impenetrable. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the full Appropriations Committee, told Eric Garcia of The Independent that she has been “very clear in our negotiations that we will not allow an increase.” Senior Democratic aides insisted this afternoon that a funding bump for ICE “was never on the table” for Democrats.

The “Body Cam” Gambit

A proposal scooped by Politico this morning suggested a potential compromise: Democrats would agree to fund the agency in exchange for mandatory body cameras for agents and de-escalation training.

By this afternoon, Democrats have another layer in play: mandatory notice of transfers. This would theoretically allow families and attorneys to track detainees after they have been “disappeared” by ICE agents into a federal custody system that attorneys describe as “opaque and vindictive.”

However, the “olive branch” is facing a fierce backlash from immigrant rights advocates. They point out that:

• Policy vs. Practice: Notice of transfers is already technically an existing policy; agents simply ignore it.

• Body Cam Evasion: Historically, agents have either refused to activate cameras or left them at home without consequence.

• The Only Real Fix: Advocates argue that unless the bill includes explicit prohibitions that begin with the language “No funds shall be used for…”.

The FEMA Hostage Situation

Democrats are also concerned that not passing a bill would leave ICE unchecked, but would also not fund FEMA. Without a passed Homeland Security bill, disaster relief funding remains in limbo. Yet, some progressive aides argue this is a false choice. They contend that the billions currently earmarked for “brutalizing the citizenry” through immigration enforcement could be redirected entirely toward disaster relief, providing a windfall for FEMA without increasing the overall deficit.

Winners and Losers

As the clock ticks toward the Jan. 30 deadline, the political landscape offers no easy exits for the Democratic caucus:

1. A Government Shutdown: Would not actually stop ICE’s essential operations.

2. A Continuing Resolution (CR): Would allow DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to continue current enforcement levels with almost zero congressional reporting requirements, essentially granting her a “slush fund” for further escalations.

Behind the scenes, the pressure is being dialed up by the private prison industry and Palantir. Firms like CoreCivic and GEO Group—which have cashed in on migrant misery across the Trump, Biden, and Obama administrations—are leading a massive lobbying blitz to ensure the 4,000-bed increase remains in the final text.

For now, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) remains in a deadlock with Britt. While Murphy has expressed a desire for “strict guardrails,” his colleagues are signaling that, this time, the “power of the purse” is the only tool they have left to rein in an agency they describe as “out of control.”