The Democrats have revealed their 10 demands for ICE funding, and they are absolute non-starters for anyone who supports the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
NEW: Schumer and Jeffries lay out 10 demands for DHS reforms pic.twitter.com/bKfVg1Ctbb
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) February 5, 2026
They have made this clear for weeks, but Democrats have officially announced their desire to end the use of probable-cause administrative warrants and instead require officers to seek a judicial warrant to conduct operations. Federal agents would be entirely handicapped by this measure, and would slow deportations to a near stop.
Two of their demands require that ICE agents de-mask and display their names on their uniforms. Radical leftists have made it a habit to doxx federal agents, and this demand is a direct nod to the most rabid of the Democrats’ base.
Democrats are seeking to restrict officers from conducting operations at "sensitive locations” which include medical facilities, schools, child-care facilities, and churches. The two key locations listed by the Democrats are polling places and courts. Virginia Democrats have already advanced legislation to ensure that voting booths are essentially sanctuary spaces for illegals, despite their insistence that they aren’t voting in their elections. Courts are also notable due to the policies of sanctuary cities that do not allow police to cooperate with federal law enforcement on immigration law. Dangerous illegal criminals are routinely released back onto the streets at courthouses, and federal officers are required to be on location to round them back up.
Recommended
Included in the demands is a requirement to “stop racial profiling,” and to specifically end the practice of officers targeting jobs and locations used by a high number of illegals. While the demand is vague to the point of being near meaningless, it would presumably restrict ICE from conducting operations similar to the mass roundup of 51 Venezuelan gang members in San Antonio, Texas last year.
Some similar demands would expand the oversight of Congress into Homeland Security. This includes extending the training time of officers and instituting a mandatory probationary period for officers who are involved in a use-of-force “incident” that would essentially limit the number of officers available to be on the street. Democrats also want all evidence to be shared with state and local jurisdictions so that they may prosecute what they deem to be "excessive use of force,” potentially creating the opportunity for radical district attorneys to mass litigate against federal agents.
Notably, the Democrats also are requiring federal agents to seek consent from state and local officials before conducting mass operations in their cities. Democrats also want to open up a pipeline to sue Homeland Security for any perceived violations of “detention standards” they have yet to fully express, and for Congress to conduct visits to any facility they desire without limitation.
Democrats are also seeking for DHS to implement bodycams for all officers, something that the Trump administration already has in the pipeline. Included in the demand is a prohibition of creating a database on individuals who are “participating in First Amendment activities,” another term so vague that it is almost entirely meaningless.
Finally, Democrats would prevent ICE from working as a “paramilitary police” that would standardize uniforms away from a paramilitary style and use equipment “in line with civil enforcement” in an attempt to disarm federal agents.
Democrats also state that President Trump should immediately remove Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from office as a gesture of “good faith.”
If implemented, this list would destroy the Trump administration’s ability to conduct even rudimentary deportation operations, and Democrats are willing to hold government funding hostage to accomplish that goal.
Editor’s Note: Democrat politicians and their radical supporters will do everything they can to interfere with and threaten ICE agents enforcing our immigration laws.
Help us hold these leftists accountable and expose their obstruction. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member