Senate Democrats are remaining firm on their demands for changes to federal immigration enforcement, with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) stating that the party would not support a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without new limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Speaking on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, Durbin remarked that recent immigration operations have strayed far from the administration’s claims of targeting “the worst of the worst.” Citing data from the DHS, Durbin noted that less than 14% of the roughly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE in 2025 had been charged with or convicted of violent crimes, while nearly 40% had no criminal record at all. Only about 2%, he added, had any alleged gang affiliation.
Durbin stated that these figures contradict the president’s rhetoric and instead point to an enforcement strategy designed to spread fear in immigrant communities. He described his time visiting a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood church in Chicago where congregants wore masks and moved cautiously in public, saying the atmosphere reflected the impact of the federal crackdown.
Durbin also highlighted the case of a Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old Montessori school assistant from Chicago, who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent during an enforcement operation despite being a U.S. citizen. Durbin said all charges against the woman were later dropped, calling out the administration for taking an ICE vehicle—that Martinez allegedly rammed into—out to Maine and then repainting it in a deliberate cover-up attempt. The incident, he argued, illustrated why new oversight and accountability measures are necessary.
Durbin: ‘Democrats Are United In Their Calls For These Common Sense Reforms’
Durbin said Democrats are pushing for a series of “common sense” reforms to rein in ICE and CBP before any DHS funding bill moves forward. The proposals include requiring judicial warrants before agents enter private homes; setting new use-of-force standards, allowing state and local investigations into alleged misconduct; and prohibiting enforcement operations at sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, churches, courts, and polling places. Democrats are also demanding that agents wear body cameras and be barred from covering their faces, a standard that all other law enforcement agencies adhere to.
With the funding deadline approaching, Durbin urged Republicans to negotiate in good faith, saying the reforms are essential to restoring public trust and ensuring immigration enforcement complies with constitutional protections. Without those changes, he suggested, Democrats are prepared to hold the line on funding.
