By Siobhan Hughes, Olivia Beavers and Terell Wright

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers accused each other Wednesday of being too politically timid to strike a deal to end the standoff over immigration enforcement, with Democrats citing President Trump's clout and Republicans charging that progressive activists were pulling the strings.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday presented a counteroffer pressing for more restrictions on immigration and border-patrol agents as a condition of funding the Department of Homeland Security, but didn't disclose details. A day earlier, Senate Republicans offered to fund all of DHS except for the unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that carries out arrests and deportations, but without any new rules on immigration agents.

Long airport-security lines have heightened pressure on Congress to reach a deal on DHS, where funding lapsed Feb. 14. Delayed paychecks for workers at the Transportation Security Administration, part of DHS, have spurred an increase in absenteeism and meant delays for travelers headed on spring break.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said he would move to vote on the GOP proposal, but the timing wasn't set. While talks were continuing, the two sides blamed each other for the lack of immediate progress ahead of a self-imposed weekend deadline.

"I don't know how you get to a solution where they keep moving the goal posts, and where, when you hit a target that they said would be acceptable, they walk away from it," Thune told reporters. "I don't know how they will ever satisfy their crazy, online political base -- because that's what this is about," he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), struck a similar note. He said Democrats were "afraid of their radical base" and that the party's leaders were "putting everybody in jeopardy, all the inconvenience and all the hardship, for their own political skins."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said that his party's demands have been clear, and that Republicans and their deference to Trump were to blame.

"We've been talking about ICE reforms from day one. These are not new demands. These are not surprise demands," Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday, while adding that the president was a barrier to a deal. Republicans are "still worried about, afraid of what he might say or do. That's what this is all about," he said.

Trump this week insisted that lawmakers not only complete a DHS package but merge it with the SAVE America Act, which centers on new voter-eligibility rules and is staunchly opposed by Democrats.

A group of Republicans went to the White House late Monday to brief Trump on their strategy, which would include passing the DHS proposal, then funding the rest of ICE through a second bill using a process called budget reconciliation. Trump indicated he had doubts. "I guess they're getting fairly close, but I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," he said Tuesday.

Behind the scenes, some moderate Democrats were talking to Republicans. One sticking point about the GOP offer: the lack of guardrails to prevent ICE from assigning other staff to carry out the functions normally assigned to Enforcement and Removal operations. The Trump administration has routinely taken Homeland Security Investigations agents off investigative duties to help drive up daily immigrant arrests.

"That's an important issue for us," said Sen. Gary Peters (D., Mich.). "That's part of what we're negotiating."

Trump said Wednesday he was considering sending in National Guard troops to provide airport security after already deploying ICE agents. Senators said that the likelihood was growing that they would have to cancel a two-week recess that starts next week to reach an agreement.

"More likely yes than no," Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said when asked if the Senate would remain in session during the recess.

Centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) also sounded downbeat, saying the Democratic counterproposal was "not a good faith offer."

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation. Under reconciliation, only a simple majority would be required.

Democrats want to require agents to wear masks and to obtain judicial warrants before forcing entry into a home, but Thune has said that writing such policies into the bill was unworkable.

"Those are areas that are very, very difficult to write policy about," Thune said. He said that the Trump administration had already made administrative changes aimed at satisfying Democratic demands as well as personnel changes -- a nod to the removal of Kristi Noem as DHS secretary.

In a letter to Senate negotiators last week, White House officials laid out new guidelines for immigration actions. They said the administration would expand use of body cameras and limit enforcement activities at sensitive places such as hospitals and schools, and require that officers clearly identify themselves. The officials also pledged to comply with oversight laws, including congressional oversight of detention facilities.

Democrats have opposed any additional funding for ICE enforcement after the death of two Americans in encounters with immigration officers in Minneapolis.

Write to Siobhan Hughes at Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com, Olivia Beavers at Olivia.Beavers@wsj.com and Terell Wright at terell.wright@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 25, 2026 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)

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