The Progress Report: February 17
Democrats are poised to win DHS shutdown fight as Republicans reject popular reforms to hold ICE accountable
THE CASE
On Friday at midnight, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shut down due to a lapse in federal funding. Congressional Democrats are demanding accountability for Trump’s untrained ICE agents—and the American people agree. Democrats have achieved maximum leverage to do what the public supports by a 16-point margin: demand commonsense, popular ICE reforms—like requiring federal officials to participate in state and local investigations and requiring agents to wear body cameras—before agreeing to provide any additional funding for DHS. As President Trump and Republicans in Congress continue to allow ICE to operate unabated, polls suggest doing so could come at a significant political cost for the GOP.
KEY FACTS AND DATA
Voters agree with Democratic lawmakers that DHS funding should be conditioned on immigration enforcement reform [Data For Progress]
A strong majority of voters support agents having body cameras, federal cooperation with state and local investigations, and requiring judicial warrants for raids on private property.
At the same time, voters disagree with central Republican arguments, such as the notion that state and local governments are inadequately cooperating with the federal government.
63% say the federal government has gone too far in disregarding local and state governments, compared with 37% who said state and local governments have gone too far in disregarding federal authority. [NBC]
In the wake of high-profile ICE abuses, public approval of President Trump’s handling of immigration has plummeted.
According to new Economist/YouGov tracking polling, public support for President Trump’s handling of immigration has sunk 27 points in the last year, shifting from +14 in February 2025 to -13 this month. This latest poll finds his handling of the issue has sunk to a second-term low. [YouGov]
Democrats are winning the communications battle in the DHS shutdown fight.
Left-leaning social media accounts are dominating the conversation online, consistently producing more immigration/ICE-related posts and engagement on social media. [Magnitude Media]
Democratic messaging is also aligned with trusted stakeholders, like local law enforcement, who are sounding the alarm that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics are “not safe.”
Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara: “[Their] tactics are very obviously not safe, and it is generating a lot of outrage and fear.” [CBS News]
25-year police veteran: “As law enforcement officers, we have all faced threats of various types during our careers, so the [need to wear face coverings due to the] fear of threats is a non-starter. This is the United States of America; we don’t have secret police here. We don’t need, nor do we want secret police here.” [Providence Journal]
CALL TO ACTION
Share this graphic with your networks to make the message clear: Additional funds for DHS come at a cost.
