STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Department of Homeland Security runs out of funding on Friday. Congress is going through another last-minute drama over the budget as some lawmakers try to shape the actions of immigration agents.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
This hour, a House committee is also hearing from immigration officials about how that enforcement is being conducted across the country. In a few minutes, we'll hear from one of the members of that committee, Democrat Dan Goldman of New York. But we're going to start with the latest of the negotiations.
INSKEEP: NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt is here. Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: How are the talks going?
SPRUNT: Well, a bit stuck right now, which feels familiar, right?
INSKEEP: Yeah.
SPRUNT: Last week, top Democrats sent a list of proposals. Late last night, they said they received a response from Republicans. Neither side has described what was in that response. But Democrats said the outline of that counterproposal didn't include details or propose legislative text, so they dismissed it as incomplete, and they said they'll be waiting for details to come their way.
INSKEEP: Not much more time to wait, it would seem.
SPRUNT: That's right. With a Friday deadline, doesn't give them a bunch of time to delivery, and if they don't reach a deal, then they'd need another stopgap bill to fund the department. So last night, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he's going to start teeing up a short-term funding bill today just in case an agreement can't be brokered in time.
INSKEEP: OK. Now, regular listeners to this program have heard discussion of the various demands the Democrats have. And there's real substance here in people's lives because it has to do with the way that immigration agents behave on the streets of places like Minneapolis and elsewhere. What on that list has begun to seem like it has bipartisan support?
SPRUNT: Well, we know that there's general support from both parties on requiring officers to wear body cameras. In fact, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has already said that the department will send cameras to every field officer in Minneapolis and that that body camera program will be expanded nationwide as funding allows. Now, Democrats want to go a step further. They want to see that put into law. But other proposals remain much more of an uphill battle.
INSKEEP: OK. Why don't you go through those?
SPRUNT: Well, Democrats want officers to display identifying information like their last names, and they want to ban them from wearing face coverings. And this has seemed to be a nonstarter with a lot of Republicans, who say that banning face masks would make it easier for people to dox federal agents. But Democrats counter that that would actually bring immigration enforcement officers in line with civil enforcement, you know, pointing out that sheriffs and police officers, for example, don't wear masks.
INSKEEP: I'm noticing that there's a kind of a theme of transparency here, demanding transparency. Democrats at least want the person on the street who works for the taxpayer to identify themselves to this person that they may be grabbing and taking down or doing any number of things to, demanding identity. And at the same time, officials from ICE and Customs and Border Protection are supposed to more or less identify themselves before Congress and face questions about what they're doing.
SPRUNT: That's right, and this will be the bulk of the hearing today. There will be another one before the Senate on Thursday. And it's interesting because Congress is actively negotiating on how to change DHS. And at the same time, this committee gets to question firsthand the people who conduct these operations, which, as you said, have come under so much scrutiny. In fact, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee requested that these officials testify after federal immigration officers shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
INSKEEP: So what'll you be watching for?
SPRUNT: I'm curious how the congressional GOP majority will handle its questioning because they broadly support President Trump's immigration enforcement actions, but they're also contending with public polling that shows a majority of Americans say that enforcement has gone too far.
INSKEEP: NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thanks, as always.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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