House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries outlined changes to the DHS Democrats are demanding in order to allow Republicans to pass the next federal funding bill during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” He says Democrats will decide today whether to support a short-term funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown continuing until they can make a deal with Republicans about Homeland Security funding. “What is clear is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be dramatically reformed,” Jeffries said. “We share that view, as does Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats in a variety of different ways.” “Body cameras should be mandatory,” he said. “Masks should come off.” “Judicial warrants should absolutely be required, consistent with the Constitution, in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars,” he said. “We need to make sure that there are complete and independent investigations so that when ICE or DHS agents break the law, they are held accountable — not by the Department of Justice, which has no interest in actually conducting a fair investigation in our view — but by state and local authorities.” “And we need to reiterate that the detention and deportation of American citizens off the table, and using taxpayer dollars to brutalize everyday Americans or violently target law-abiding immigrant families needs to be off the table,” he said. “The administrative warrants in our view aren’t worth the paper they are written on. This is an extreme administration unleashing brutality on the American people using taxpayer dollars.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: So, this passed the House. So, they passed the bill to keep the government open for another couple of weeks as you try to negotiate reforms on Homeland Security funding. Will the House follow the Senate’s lead and vote to keep the government open? REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Well, it was a meaningful step in the right direction. Certainly, the separation of the five bipartisan bills which in our view promote the health, the safety and the economic well-being of the American people need to move forward. And we’ll meet later on this afternoon as a caucus to discuss what we believe is the best path. What is clear is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be dramatically reformed. We share that view as does Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats in a variety of different ways. Body cameras should be mandatory. Masks should come off. Judicial warrants should absolutely be required consistent with the Constitution in our view before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars. We need to make sure that there are complete and independent investigations so that when ICE or DHS agents break the law, they are held accountable not by the Department of Justice, which has no interest in actually conducting a fair investigation in our view, but by state and local authorities. And we need to reiterate that the detention and deportation of American citizens off the table, and using taxpayer dollars to brutalize everyday Americans or violently target law-abiding immigrant families needs to be off the table. STEPHANOPOULOS: That’s a list of serious reforms. Will you vote to keep funding Department of Homeland Security for the next two weeks as you negotiate those reforms? JEFFRIES: Well, we’re going to have that conversation — the one later on today and as we return to Washington. The one thing that we’ve said publicly is that we need a robust path toward dramatic reform. The administration can’t just talk the talk. They need to walk the walk. That should begin today — not in two weeks, today. STEPHANOPOULOS: But can you get these reforms that you’re calling for? No masks, body cameras. You just heard Deputy Attorney General Blanche say that these very much in support of these administrative warrants, not judicial warrants. Can you get them? How can they be enforced? JEFFRIES: The administrative warrants in our view aren’t worth the paper they are written on. This is an extreme administration unleashing brutality on the American people using taxpayer dollars. So, we absolutely as a condition of moving forward — in my view, I think this is a broadly held perspective shared by Democrats in the House and the Senate — need judicial warrants. More importantly, George, it’s a perspective held by the American people, and we’re standing on their side. STEPHANOPOULOS: Even if you get the agreement, even if you get the agreement with Republicans in the Congress, can you trust the administration to actually enforce the changes? JEFFRIES: This is one of the — well, you’re absolutely correct that this is an untrustworthy administration. They’ve been lawless from the very beginning. It’s one of the reasons why we need to actually build these strict requirements in terms of behavior into the law so that the courts can hold them accountable and the American people, through their representatives at the state and local level, can hold — can hold these individuals accountable. But you know, from the very beginning of this effort, with respect to the Department of Homeland Security, our premise has been simple, that ICE agents should conduct themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country as opposed to running around masked thugs, in many instances unleashing brutality on law-abiding American citizens and violently targeting immigrant families and communities or even, you know, holding in detention a five-year-old boy with a superhero backpack. That’s not the type of violent felon that the administration promised they were going to target, and the American people are rejecting it and we’re going to stand on their side.

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