Michael Gold

Why?

So they say that ICE agents need to be able to protect their identities from the public because they're at risk of being doxxed or otherwise harassed.

And they say that ICE agents are facing an unprecedented rise in threats and that this is how they're protecting themselves, by hiding their identities, by shielding their faces from people who mean them harm.

So both sides are entrenched in their positions, and these negotiations are at an impasse.

And that brings us to this week, where the clock is ticking to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Yes, ma'am.

And Democrats are using every available opportunity to highlight just how flawed they think the immigration system is and the changes they want to see to ICE and the Border Patrol.

And this comes at hearings where they grill the heads of ICE and Border Protection.

Where Democrats used that as an opportunity to grill her about Kristi Noem and voice objections to their policies.

And all the while, this debate is playing out on the House floor and on the Senate floor.

And there's a real question of whether a deal can even be made, given how hardened everyone has become on these issues.

Yes, that's true.

But that position really comes with a challenge for Democrats because as much as they're making this fight about immigration enforcement and reining in ICE and reining in the Border Protection Agents, there's a bigger challenge here.

Even now that we're headed toward a shutdown and the funding is going to stop flowing to the Department of Homeland Security, that may not actually do much to stop ICE and Customs and Border Patrol from operating the way they've been operating.

There are a host of other agencies that this money goes to, and there's a real risk that they might actually hurt services that many people have come to depend on that might have a broader impact.

And it's entirely possible that this strategy could backfire for Democrats.

Sure.

So you might remember last year Republicans passed what they're calling their one big beautiful bill.

And a lot of the attention on that bill was on tax policy and health care.

But a major part of that bill was giving a huge amount of money to the Homeland Security Department for immigration enforcement.