Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said Sunday that Democrats are prepared to end much of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding standoff if Republicans agree to pass funding for several agencies separate from immigration enforcement.
Speaking with Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Kaine argued that Democrats have proposed funding most DHS agencies immediately while continuing negotiations over reforms to immigration enforcement.
The partial shutdown has entered its fourth week, leaving employees at several agencies—including the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—without pay. Immigration enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), on the other hand, remain funded.
Kaine said Democrats have offered legislation to fund other DHS components, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), while continuing negotiations over immigration enforcement policies.
“We want to fund TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard and CISA,” Kaine said. “Let’s do that and then confine the ICE and CBP reform discussion just to those two agencies.”
According to Kaine, Republicans have rejected that approach and have instead taken on the stance that all DHS funding should be addressed together. He added that ICE and CBP currently have sufficient funding because Congress provided additional resources in a spending package last summer.
Kaine Says Voting For Noem Was A ‘Big Mistake’
The discussion also turned to leadership at DHS following the firing of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week.
Kaine, who was among the Democrats who supported Noem’s confirmation, said he now regrets that vote.
“Big mistake,” he said, explaining that he initially believed her experience as a governor would translate into effective leadership at the department.
Kaine argued that the department’s policies are ultimately driven by Stephen Miller rather than by Noem herself, warning that leadership changes alone will not address Democrats’ concerns.
Looking ahead to Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK)’s nomination as Noem’s replacement, Kaine said Democrats want assurances that immigration enforcement practices will change, not simply a new secretary.
Among the reforms Kaine said Democrats are seeking are requirements for judicial warrants before agents enter private homes, body cameras for immigration officers, and restrictions on officers concealing their identities during operations.
“These are basic principles that our local law enforcement agencies live by,” Kaine said, adding that federal immigration agencies should be held to similar standards.
