Congress faces DHS shutdown as funding talks stall

Congress risks a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security if it does not pass a full-year funding bill by Friday. Lawmakers have approved a stopgap measure to keep the department operating only until 13 February. Democrats are negotiating with Republican colleagues and the White House over additional guardrails for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The talks come amid criticism of the agencies’ use of force, which has included the fatal shootings of two US citizens in Minneapolis. Democrats say federal immigration officers have carried out indiscriminate raids, brutalised people and concealed their identities.

Their demands include requiring judicial warrants and barring agents from wearing masks; Republicans have largely rejected those proposals and have proposed another short-term funding extension to continue talks.

United States, Minneapolis

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