MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Department of Homeland Security faces a possible shutdown this weekend. Bipartisan talks have stalled over limiting President Trump's immigration enforcement agenda.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And in a few minutes, we will hear from one of the Democrats involved in the negotiations, Representative Mike Quigley. First, we have some sounds from Capitol Hill. Lawmakers in the House called up to the people leading the president's immigration agenda yesterday, and here are the facts.
MARTIN: NPR's immigration policy correspondent Ximena Bustillo has been tracking all this, and she's with us now. Good morning, Ximena.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So tell us - who did we hear from, and what did they say?
BUSTILLO: Officials from the three immigration agencies were on tap, all wanted to talk about how they were implementing President Trump's agenda, so that's reducing the number of people crossing at the southern border, increasing arrests and deportations and bringing more scrutiny to legal immigration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons faced most of the questions, even though his agency is not the only one conducting immigration law enforcement. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow faced the fewest questions, even though his agency has leaned into policing tactics and reviewing the status of more immigrants.
MARTIN: That's interesting. OK, so Democrats have been demanding that agents be equipped with body cameras, for agents to identify themselves and to use judicial warrants when they go into people's homes. Those are some of the demands, but those seem to be the main ones. Did those come up yesterday?
BUSTILLO: Yeah. Republicans asked about body camera availability, and Lyons said that ICE only has 3,000 cameras for 13,000 officers, and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott noted that only half of 20,000 CBP officers have body cameras and not enough people to fully implement them. Here is Scott's plea to Congress.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RODNEY SCOTT: So fund the entire program so that we can be transparent and that we can make sure America knows what we're doing because that trust is critically important.
BUSTILLO: Lyons promised to release body cam footage of enforcement in Minneapolis as well. But Lyons also said that he would not ask his officers to remove their face coverings. Both Scott and Lyons said that that could result in doxing for their officers. Republicans generally are still opposed to mandating that officers remove their face masks.
MARTIN: OK, so the two sides, the Republicans and Democrats, do seem to agree about body cameras, at least the importance of body cameras. So were there any other areas where the two parties seem to be on the same page about what has been happening and what should happen next?
BUSTILLO: Both Democrats and Republicans suggested ICE may have gone too far in recent actions. For example, one Republican, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, said he believed, quote, "roving patrols" should be done at the border rather than in major cities of the United States. Ending these, quote, "roving patrols" is something Democrats also want. McCaul also applauded the leadership changes in Minneapolis, which removed border patrol commander Greg Bovino and sent in White House Border Czar Tom Homan to lead on-the-ground operations there. McCaul said this was, quote, "returning to the original mission of ICE."
MARTIN: OK. So at least one Republican seems to have some sort of alignment with the Democrats on these issues. So there is this funding deadline on Friday for the Department of Homeland Security. What could happen in the next few days?
BUSTILLO: Well, all three are scheduled to be back on Capitol Hill on Thursday to do it all over again but this time before the Senate. I'm going to continue to keep an eye on what Republicans are asking for and how far apart the two parties are in their concerns. But if they can't come to an agreement, parts of DHS may see their funding slow down. Now, this would be particularly things like the Transportation Security Administration or disaster response. Now, border patrol and ICE got that infusion of cash last summer from Congress, so they can continue to dip into that and work and get paid, even if there is a shutdown to the agency.
MARTIN: That is NPR's immigration policy correspondent Ximena Bustillo. Ximena, thank you.
BUSTILLO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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