Opposition lawmakers threaten funding standoff after border agent shooting

Opposition lawmakers in the upper chamber are reportedly prepared to derail a fragile agreement that would prevent a partial government shutdown, following the fatal shooting of a local resident by a border patrol agent over the weekend.

Legislative sources indicate that members of the liberal faction had already expressed reservations about funding the Department of Homeland Security amid the agency’s increased presence in various regions. However, the shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation in a northern metropolitan area has allegedly shattered what little consensus existed on the funding measure.

According to observers, opposition lawmakers in the upper chamber, led by the minority leader, now plan to vote against the legislation, which is currently bundled with five other spending bills in a broader funding package.

The minority leader reportedly stated that his faction had sought “common sense reforms” in the homeland security funding bill, but charged that “because of [the ruling party’s] refusal to stand up to [the head of state], the bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“I will vote no,” the lawmaker said, according to local media reports. “[Opposition] lawmakers will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the homeland security funding bill is included.”

This development serves as a significant blow to conservative faction lawmakers in the upper chamber, who had reportedly worked across party lines to find compromises in the homeland security bill. The standoff comes as the deadline to fund the government rapidly approaches on Friday, with an arctic storm system further complicating matters by forcing the cancellation of legislative votes.

A senior legislative aide told media outlets that opposition lawmakers had been saying for weeks that they weren’t interested in shutting the government down again, and had praised the bipartisan nature of the government funding process until the weekend incident.

“These bills were negotiated with [the opposition] — they agreed to what’s in them,” the source reportedly said.

The agency would be fully funded under the current proposal, with several restrictions and reporting requirements that, if not met, would act as triggers to halt certain funding flows.

Removing the bill from the current six-bill funding package would reportedly cause significant procedural complications in the legislature, given that any changes would require approval from the lower chamber. However, that body is currently in recess until February 2, making the likelihood of a partial shutdown considerably higher.

Before the shooting incident, several opposition lawmakers had already voiced their opposition to the legislation, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Notably, some lawmakers who had previously crossed party lines during the nation’s longest government shutdown in recent history have now joined the opposition to the current funding package.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the lower chamber remain on a week-long recess after passing their latest spending package in two separate votes this past week, according to legislative sources.

A provision was reportedly added to the legislation that would combine the bills into one large package for upper chamber consideration. Changing this arrangement ahead of the January 30 shutdown deadline would mean lower chamber lawmakers must return to the capital early to navigate multiple procedural hurdles and hold another vote on the legislation.

“We passed all 12 bills over to the [upper chamber], and they still have six in their possession that they need to pass to [the head of state],” a conservative faction leadership source told media outlets, referring to the lower chamber’s completion of its portion of the annual appropriations process. “We have no plan to come back next week.”

Even if lower chamber leaders changed their plans, the impending storm system would likely mean lawmakers could not return until Tuesday at the earliest, putting final passage sometime later in the week and virtually guaranteeing the legislature does not complete consideration of the bills until after the Friday deadline.

A partial government shutdown would mean only agencies that the legislature has not yet funded would have to reduce or cease functions — in this case, payment to active duty military personnel, air traffic controllers, and border patrol agents could all be affected, according to government sources.