The shutdown is over. Now a race is on to reform Trump's ICE.

WASHINGTON – The latest government shutdown is over, and Capitol Hill is already bracing for another high-profile brawl over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement crackdown that could land one federal agency with a shutdown all of its own.

As Trump signed legislation Feb. 3 to end the partial funding lapse, all eyes in Congress turned toward negotiations to overhaul the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of Alex Pretti's killing last month in Minnesota.

The constraints on those discussions are many, but the biggest challenge may be time. Lawmakers have just over a week to come up with a compromise before a short-term funding extension for the 9/11-era Cabinet agency expires Feb. 13.

In hopes of quickly placing more guardrails around ICE and Border Patrol, Democrats initially pushed for a tight turnaround on talks with the GOP and the Trump administration. But Republicans are casting doubt on whether fast-tracking the negotiations is feasible.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said just before the shutdown ended that the timeline for solving bipartisan concerns with DHS's operations was "way too short to allow anything consequential to happen."

"Ultimately, that's going to be a conversation between the president of the United States and the Democrats here in the Senate," he told reporters Feb. 3.

The political atmosphere stands out as a marked departure from the Washington of the past year in which Democrats have held little leverage over a Republican-controlled Congress and White House.

But widespread backlash to the fatal shootings last month of two Minnesotans by federal agents during an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis enraged the Democrats' base, angered the gun lobby and prompted unusually harsh criticism of the Trump administration from congressional Republicans.

Those dynamics gave Democrats a rare upper hand, even though they chanced another prolonged shutdown to play it.

With the spending impasse behind them, lawmakers now have just 10 days to figure out a path forward or risk a funding lapse for just the Department of Homeland Security. That scenario would put Democrats in an awkward position, because ICE would continue operating while other important government functions that Americans rely on, including the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, experience lapsed paychecks for their staff and other disruptions.

Congress approved $75 billion for ICE over the next several years under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" President Trump signed into law last summer.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said that as long as Republicans negotiate in good faith, "we can get it done." Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, will lead the discussions with her Democratic counterparts.

"We expect to present to the Republicans a very serious, detailed proposal very shortly," Schumer told reporters Feb. 3.

Dems' demands: No masks, more body cameras

Senate Democrats have a list of three main demands for immigration enforcement. Among their asks is an end to sweeping immigration checks known as "roving patrols." They also want more accountability for ICE and Border Patrol, including independent investigations and stricter use-of-force standards. And they want federal agents to be prohibited from wearing masks and be required to wear body cameras.

Some Senate Republicans have said they're amenable to some of those requests. On Feb. 2, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered her officers in the field in Minneapolis to begin wearing body cameras immediately.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson has ruled out any proposal that forces federal agents to remove their masks en masse. Doing so, the Louisiana Republican argued, would jeopardize officers' safety.

"I don't think the president would approve it, and he shouldn't," Johnson said on Fox News.

Those comments rankled some Senate Democrats, raising the likelihood that Homeland Security could shut down next week. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said he won't vote for any DHS funding bill unless it includes "radical change."

"I hear Johnson say things like he wouldn't even consider doing what every other law enforcement agency in America does, which is not masking," he said. "That's not something that they're even willing to entertain."

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.