Trump border czar dismisses Democratic demands to reform ICE

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February 15, 2026 11:30 AM EST

FILE PHOTO: Border Czar Tom Homan speaks during a press conference at Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. February 12, 2026. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - ‌White House ​border czar ​Tom Homan on Sunday brushed off Democratic demands to reform ICE amid mounting backlash over the agency's tactics and a partisan ‌deadlock over homeland security funding.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers doubled down on their ⁠calls for changes to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, even as Republicans accused ‌them of grandstanding by refusing ‌to back a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

* On CBS News' "Face the Nation" program, Homan calledDemocratic legislators' ICE demands "unreasonable" whilestressing that ​he personally was not part of the discussionsover a bill to fund Homeland Security in exchange for reformingICE. * Democrats sent a list of 10 ⁠demands to the top Republicanlawmakers in Congress earlier this month that included ICEhalting racial profiling in its policing, ​prohibiting masks andstopping officers from entering private homes without a judicialwarrant. * Homan denied that ICE officers engage in racial profiling,saying ​they make stops based on "reasonable suspicion." ASupreme ‌Court ruling last year allowed officers to use factorssuch as brown skin or speaking Spanish as grounds for a stop. * ⁠Homan said ICE officers need masks to hide theiridentities for protection although opponents note that the vastmajority of U.S. law enforcement officers work without them. * DHS entered a partial ⁠shutdown on Saturday, but largelycontinues to operate since most of its functions are deemedessential. * On "Fox ​News Sunday," U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a DelawareDemocrat, credited "outcry from Americans" for convincing theWhite House to negotiate over ICE now even though DHS still hasfunding for some time. * Republican ‌Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told CNN's"State of the Union" that Democrats are engaging in "politicaltheater" and are not negotiating in ‌good faith. * Talks between Democrats and Republicans could remainstalled as both chambers of ⁠Congress will be on break this ‌week.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson ​in Washington; Additional reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York and Ryan P. Jones in Toronto; Editing by Sergio Non and ‌Matthew Lewis)


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