WASHINGTON (AP) — As a partial government shutdown looms at week’s end, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has laid out a list of demands for the Department of Homeland Security, including an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that they identify themselves to the public.
Republicans will need Democratic votes to keep the government open when funding runs at midnight Friday. But Democrats have pledged to block a spending bill for the department, hoping to pressure the GOP and President Donald Trump for major change at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies as the country reels from the deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
Democratic senators met on Wednesday before a crucial Thursday vote on whether to move forward with the spending legislation that funds DHS and a swath of other government agencies. Schumer said Democrats are asking the White House to “end roving patrols” in cities, coordinate with local law enforcement on immigration arrests, spell out an enforceable code of conduct so agents are held accountable when they violate rules, and require that agents have “masks off, body cameras on” and carry proper identification, as is common practice in law enforcement.
The Democratic caucus is united in those “commonsense reforms” and that the burden is on Republicans to accept them, the New York senator said.
“This is not law and order,” Schumer said, referring to the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement surge across the country. "This is chaos.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he was waiting for Democrats to outline their what they want and he suggested that they need to be talking to the White House.
It was unclear how seriously the White House was engaged and whether the two sides could agree on anything that would appease Democrats who are irate after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti and Renee Good this month.
With no evident negotiations underway, a partial shutdown appeared increasingly likely starting Saturday.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said Democrats have been looking at changes that will “unite the caucus, and I think unite the country,” including ending the “roving patrols” that Democrats say are terrorizing Americans around the country.
“None of this is revolutionary,” said Murphy, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees homeland security spending. “None of this requires a new comprehensive piece of legislation.”
Schumer and Murphy have said any fixes should be passed by Congress, not just promised by the administration.
Republicans say any changes to the spending will need to be passed by the House to prevent a shutdown, and that is not likely to happen in time because the House is not in legislative session this week.
“We can have conversations about what additional oversight is required, what additional laws we should consider, but not at the expense of shutting down the government," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Despite some conversations among Democrats, Republicans and the White House, it was unclear whether there could be a resolution in time to avoid a partial shutdown.
The House passed the six remaining funding bills last week and sent them to the Senate as a package, and that makes it difficult to strip out the homeland security portion as Democrats are demanding. Republicans could break the package apart with the consent of all 100 senators, which would be complicated, or through a series of votes that would extend past the Friday deadline.
It was unclear whether Trump will weigh in.
Republican leaders had hoped to avoid another shutdown after last fall’s 43-day closure that revolved around Democrats’ insistence on extending federal subsidies that make health coverage more affordable for those enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Even if the Senate could resolve the issue, House Republicans have made clear they do not want any changes to the bill they have passed. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wrote that its members stand with the president and ICE.
“The package will not come back through the House without funding for the Department of Homeland Security,” according to the letter.
Democrats say they won’t back down.
“It is truly a moral moment,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “I think we need to take a stand.”
A demonstrator holds a sign during a rally outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives at his office as the Senate returns at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.
The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.
Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”
But on city streets, there were few signs of a shift. Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.
Associated Press journalists were in the neighborhood covering the enforcement actions. When the journalists got out of their car to document the encounter, officers with the federal Bureau of Prisons pushed one of them, threatened them with arrest and told them to get back in their car despite the reporters' identifying themselves as media.
Officers from multiple federal agencies have been involved in the enforcement operations. From their car, the AP journalists saw at least one person being pepper sprayed and one detained, though it was unclear if that person was the target of the operation or a protester. Agents also broke car windows.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is visiting Minnesota, said 16 people were arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement in the state. She said more arrests were expected.
“NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law," Bondi said in a social media post.
Messages seeking comment were left with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
Many immigrant families are still fearful of leaving their homes, and Latino businesses are still closed, according to Daniel Hernandez, who owns the Minneapolis grocery store Colonial Market. He also runs a popular Facebook page geared toward informing the Hispanic community in the Twin Cities.
While Colonial Market is open, all but one of the dozen immigrant-run businesses that rented space inside to sell clothes, jewelry and toys have closed since late December, and none has plans to reopen, Hernandez said.
“The reality is the community is still very worried and afraid,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez referenced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who helped lead the administration's crackdown in the Twin Cities and who has reportedly been assigned elsewhere.
Bovino "was removed, but the tactics so far are still the same," Hernandez said. “Nobody now is trusting the government with those changes.”
The federal enforcement extended to the city’s Ecuadorian consulate, where a federal law enforcement officer tried to enter before being blocked by employees.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a social media post that the mayor was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by not participating in the enforcement efforts.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Donnie McMillan placed a cardboard sign reading “In remembrance of my angel” at the makeshift memorial where Alex Pretti was shot.
The Vietnam veteran, 71, kneeled to pay his respects and saluted to honor the nurse whom he said he remembered seeing during his frequent visits to the Veterans Affairs hospital where Pretti worked.
“I feel like I’ve lost an angel right here,” the disabled veteran said, pointing to the growing sidewalk memorial covered in flowers, candles and signs.
“This is not the way we should operate,” added McMillan, who said he served in Vietnam and then in the military police for more than a decade. “I respect everybody, but I respect my angel more, and now he’s no longer with us.”
Also Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said two federal agents involved in Petti's shooting have been on leave since Saturday.
In other developments, a man confronted Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting and squirted her with a strong-smelling substance as she denounced the administration. He was tackled and identified by police as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, a convicted felon who had made online posts supportive of Trump.
Minnesota court records show Kazmierczak was convicted of auto theft in 1989 and has multiple arrests for driving under the influence, along with a slew of traffic offenses. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
In social media posts, Kazmierczak described himself a former network engineer who lives in Minneapolis and had made comments critical of former President Joe Biden, referring to Democrats as “angry and liars.”
Omar continued speaking for about 25 minutes after the man was ushered out by security, saying she would not be intimidated. After the event, she said she was unharmed.
The administration was also being challenged in court. Federal courts were weighing a decision on a lawsuit seeking to pause the crackdown, as well as an order for the head of ICE to appear personally to address what a judge said were failures to grant due process for certain immigrants.
Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that agency's name is Veterans Affairs, not Veterans Administration.
The Ecuadorian consulate stands in Minneapolis, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Vietnam war veteran Donnie McMillan places a sign that says "In remembrance of my angel" at a memorial set up at the location where Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was shot by U.S. federal agents, in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
A person is attended to after federal officers used a chemical irritant on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A person walks past a memorial honoring Alex Pretti outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
A federal officer approaches observers and journalists on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
ADDS MORE INFORMATION Federal Bureau of Prisons officers threaten AP video journalist Mark Vancleave with arrest on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Federal agents knock on a door of a residence on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
