Senate Democrats plot strategy as DHS standoff deepens heading into shutdown week

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats held a conference call Sunday to discuss their strategy after they made it clear they will block a Department of Homeland Security funding bill if it does not include changes to impose conditions on immigration enforcement operations.

The Senate is heading into a critical week with a Friday deadline to fund the government or face a partial shutdown.

The package doesn’t have the 60 votes it needs. Without them, much of the federal government could shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Two sources on the call told NBC News that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told the caucus the message had to be to “restrain, reform and restrict ICE.”

According to one of the sources, Schumer told them that the vote won’t come until Thursday and that he discussed the Democratic caucus’ unity in opposition to funding DHS without reforms. He said the five other funding bills apart from the DHS measure are acceptable.

“Basically DHS is the problem and needs to be stripped out,” the source summed up Schumer as saying.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pushed the caucus to come up with a demand for DHS reforms, two sources with knowledge of his comments said.

Republicans could limit the scope of a shutdown by voting on the non-DHS measures separately and passing them.

Despite that, a Senate Republican leadership aide told NBC News they’re still planning to vote on the package as one.

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“Government funding expires at the end of the week, and Republicans are determined to not have another government shutdown," the aide said. "We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us.”

According to a Senate Democratic leadership aide, Republicans and the White House have reached out to them but “have not yet raised any realistic solutions.”

Further complicating matters, the House is on recess all week, so anything that revises that package and requires it to vote again is also questionable by the deadline. There’s also the snowstorm, which has postponed the Senate’s return from Monday to Tuesday.

Schumer said in a statement issued earlier Sunday: “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward. ... The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public.”

Schumer added: “Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill.”