
US Rep. Delia Ramirez on DHS Funding, War in Iran
Clip: 3/31/2026 | 8m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has gone 46 days without funding.
A partial government shutdown began in February after a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota left two U.S. citizens dead. Democrats say they won't fund DHS without reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republicans argue the proposed changes would endanger ICE agents and the public.
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US Rep. Delia Ramirez on DHS Funding, War in Iran
Clip: 3/31/2026 | 8m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
A partial government shutdown began in February after a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota left two U.S. citizens dead. Democrats say they won't fund DHS without reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republicans argue the proposed changes would endanger ICE agents and the public.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> A new record for the longest federal funding lapse in U.S.
history.
The Department of Homeland Security has now gone.
46 days without full funding surpassing the previous 43 day shutdown that ended in November.
Partial shutdown began in February after a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota left to U.S.
citizens dead.
Democrats say they won't from the Department of Homeland Security without reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Republicans argue the proposed changes would endanger ice agents and the public.
Joining us via zoom to discuss the negotiations are Congresswoman Delhi Ramirez, a Democrat representing parts of Chicago's West side.
We also invited all the Republican members of Illinois's congressional delegation, but they either declined or did not respond.
Congresswoman Ramirez, thank you for joining us again.
We appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
So as we mentioned, this partial shutdown of DHS now the longest in the country's history, both chambers of Congress and 2 week recess around the Easter holiday.
Do you think lawmakers should return to DC things just that such a stalemate that it might not make a difference?
>> Look, I think we absolutely should return to the sea and do everything in our power to make sure the for TSA workers are Coast Guard.
FEMA.
see some cyber security funded.
But the reality is that our speaker has no interest in doing that.
There's a think it's really important.
Clarify for people sent Donald Trump 44 days ago could could have issued his executive order to workers should never have to what they're going through right now.
already gone to the stuff before in November and have him go through this again is pure evil from the president.
The executive order that money he has the money to do this.
He just wanted to put enough pressure so that he can get more money for eyes at the expense federal workers.
>> mention TSA workers who finally started receiving pay this week.
But of course, there hundreds of thousands of DHS employees, you know, many of whom aren't being paid.
Are you concerned about those, you know, employees outside of TSA simply leaving and finding other work?
>> Yeah, look.
And are the president and under Christine on the uncertainty see the difference coming in to Mark moment.
DHS workers left in House, though conditions for a very long time being the mandate to do things over to redirect their money to other departments instead of actually funding or cybersecurity.
I committee hearings serve and Homeland Security where we've had the interim supervisor or administrator for TSA as well as a director for and FEMA.
There.
And they have admitted sent their money for their funding, their mission has been redirected to ICE and CBP for more ice enforcement.
The reality is that there's been a lot of instability for a very long time.
And this obsession with getting more money for ICE, the spite of the 150 billion of taxpayer dollars that were funded in July.
It's not just.
Inappropriate, unacceptable.
It's criminal to the workers.
They need to get paid into the contracts that we should be honoring specially.
We're talking to FEMA.
>> The Senate very early this past Friday morning passed a proposal to fund DHS except for ICE in parts of Customs and Border Protection.
All the Senate Republicans supported it.
But Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership in the House rejected it.
Would you have supported something along the lines of the Senate plan?
>> Look, into interesting.
They are asking a question.
I think that the intention of the bill was good.
But I read every line in the bill and unfortunately, indirectly there were there was language in that Senate bill that would allow procurement for more CBP funding and would give Milan emergency authority to be able to move money ice and CBP if there was some form of emergency protests, that one back or the president decides that a particular state is in a state of emergency in all of a sudden he needs to more agents.
to be able to terrorize that community.
So the answer is I would not have voted for that bill because there were some concerns with some of the language.
That's usually what happens when put together a bill in very last short minute.
And there's an incentive things within the bill itself.
The intention of not funding ice and CBP.
I applaud and the urgency of funding TSA Coast Guard and see ice a pond as well.
And I hope to have a clean, though that does just that.
It just can't be at the expense.
The secretary who also operates in the same way as the former secretary that the agency is running as a corrupt agency.
You can't give them the kind of authorities allow them to move money.
>> House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said this weekend called the Senate's proposal week.
Meantime, on the Senate side, no GOP senators have appeared interested in taking up a stopgap proposal out of the house.
Are you surprised to see some tensions are rising between House and Senate Republicans?
>> not surprised because you also see some tensions within Democrats in the House and Senate.
mean, we've been asking senators to hold the line specially around what we have seen with ice enforcement up around the country, especially in Chicago, please many Apple, But the reality is the Speaker Johnson works for just one person, not the House of Representatives and constituents is Donald Trump and Donald Trump wants to create all the conditions of pressure to fully fund and fund more ICE and CBP because he wants this paramilitary pulleys also be able to show up just like nothing.
Airports, maybe at polling locations and around the country, terrorizing people at a time where I think that they're really afraid that they may lose the majority come November.
Speaker Johnson has no real reason for not moving something.
A tough and TSA workers to fund FEMA to fund cybersecurity and Coast Guard except that he wants to make sure he does whatever Donald Trump wants Donald Trump sent.
I got 150 billion for I want more.
Get me more.
So Johnson caved as Johnson tends to do every day in Congress.
>> Another major issue.
I want to make sure we touch on over the weekend.
President Trump said us around negotiations were going extremely well.
Iranian officials have denied any such negotiations today.
The U.S.
bombing another Iranian city is for Do you think there are any sort of negotiations actually under way?
>> Look, we're hearing from the news not from our own briefings in Congress, which we should be briefed every But we're hearing that Pakistan is trained to engage in negotiation between Iran and the U.S.
However, there's nothing shows us that there's really a pathway and a plan for Donald Trump to get us out of this morass.
But this possible with that said, Gas is $4.
$4 right now.
In some cases you're seeing that for 24 and some of smaller gas stations around the country.
Donald Trump is telling other partners and allies get your own oil because this has always been about him, profiting his family profiting and its owners profiting.
And the reality is that Donald Trump is also talking about a potential ground invasion where that doesn't actually help us get closer to some kind of negotiation.
The peace deal that talks about the full-on war, the regional war that would put more service members that people in this country truly at risk.
So I'm very concerned.
And I think that we need to go back to Congress as soon as possible.
We need to actually pass a war powers resolution because the president should not be calling all the shots specially when it comes to war.
And Speaker Johnson have to stand up for Congress, not for the president and say enough is enough.
>> All right, Congresswoman
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