Congressional Spending and ICE: A Tenuous Connection

Recent events highlight a connection between Congressional spending, the Minnesota ICE shooting, and military operations concerning Venezuela.

Many consider the “power of the purse” one of Congress’ most esteemed prerogatives. This has prompted a call from some progressive Democrats to either defund ICE in upcoming government funding negotiations or at least impose restrictions on its activities.

Interestingly, a faction within the party is even pushing for a government shutdown in response to the Minnesota incident. And there are those trying to leverage their financial resources to influence administration actions related to Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and Greenland.

As of now, Congress hasn’t tackled funding for the Pentagon or the State Department for the 2026 fiscal year.

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Funding for nine federal departments will expire on January 30th, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A bill addressing this could be debated in the House soon. Amid these funding discussions, there’s an increasing clamor from Democrats advocating for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

This week, the House passed a “minibus” spending package that encompasses funding for energy, water programs, the Department of the Interior, Commerce, Justice, and various science programs. The Senate is expected to align with the House on these measures. Nevertheless, Congress will likely have to authorize another continuing resolution (CR) to ensure government operations continue post-January 30th.

A CR merely maintains current funding levels, suggesting that Congress might need to approve any spending bill while placing other matters into the CR category to prevent a shutdown.

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Nonetheless, some progressives are looking to capitalize on the government funding deadline as a way to assert pressure on ICE and operations linked to Venezuela.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) remarked, “We should use every tool at our disposal to do that, including the spending process.”

However, it’s clear that divisions are surfacing among Democrats. Leaders in both the House and Senate have opted against a shutdown this time, recognizing that any agreement is precarious as the deadline looms.

When I asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about potentially using spending to limit ICE, he sidestepped the question. “Our focus right now on the appropriations bill is to get the three bills that are going to be debated today across the finish line,” he said, redirecting attention to the Department of Homeland Security.

There was a bit more back and forth there.

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Jeffries seemed frustrated when I pressed further about ICE funding, stating, “No, Chad, my focus right now is making life better for the American people.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also finds himself in a similar predicament. He acknowledged issues with ICE but didn’t address questions regarding using the appropriations process against it or Venezuela. He, like Jeffries, chose not to delve deeper into the implications.

Interestingly, even Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provided some leniency to Jeffries and Schumer, acknowledging the complexities of leading a diverse caucus. She pointed out, however, that funding for ICE has “exploded virtually overnight,” noting the resulting power abuses.

Ocasio-Cortez suggested that Democrats could indeed pursue cuts to ICE funding in future negotiations.