GOP plays ball with Democrats on ICE funding, body cameras for agents

Congressional Republicans have agreed to cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and impose new restrictions on the agency in order to secure a bipartisan deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown — a concession that comes even as President Donald Trump escalates ICE enforcement nationwide.

The cuts were tucked into a 1,059-page Homeland Security funding bill negotiated by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and made public Tuesday. The bill cuts $115 million from ICE’s immigration enforcement and removal operations. It reduces the number of detention beds in migrant holding facilities by 5,500 and cuts funding for Customs and Border Protection by $1.8 billion. The legislation also earmarks $20 million to equip ICE agents with body cameras and money to provide agents with