Fetterman admits government shutdown won't stop ICE operations, says parties must negotiate a 'way forward'

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Fetterman admits government shutdown won't stop ICE operations, says parties must negotiate a 'way forward'

Pennsylvania Democrat acknowledges nearly $200B in DHS funding from 'big, beautiful bill' will keep immigration enforcement

Max Bacall Fox News

Published

February 2, 2026 12:37pm EST

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Sen. Fetterman addresses calls for ICE reforms, US strategy on Iran

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joins ‘The Sunday Briefing’ to discuss the partial government shutdown, calls for ICE reforms and the U.S. military strategy on Iran.

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., acknowledged Sunday that a government shutdown would not stop Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations because the agency is already funded under existing law, as Democrats have refused to vote for a spending package that includes money for ICE.

"It's absolutely true that [a government shutdown] it's not going to really deprive any kind of funding from DHS or ultimately ICE because they have those effectively unlimited funds through the big, beautiful bill," Fetterman said on "The Sunday Briefing."

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he told Trump in a phone call to fire DHS Sec. Kristi Noem. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo; Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)

Nearly $200 billion in funding has been allocated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through President Donald Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill," which will fund ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for years.

"So we're going to have to figure out a way forward," Fetterman continued, predicting negotiations over ICE reforms between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

WHERE THINGS STAND WITH THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND HOW SOON IT COULD END

"Thankfully, people really got smart and realized, in the Senate, we cannot shut down like our military," said Fetterman.

He has been vocally opposed to government shutdowns, especially in the wake of the longest one in U.S. history, which occurred last year.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has spoken out against congressional representatives creating government shutdowns. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Senate Democrats and the White House last week reached a deal to fund the government, but the House still has to review it on Monday afternoon as the partial government shutdown enters its third day.

The deal would strip the DHS funding bill from the broader package and tees up a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution, for two weeks to keep the agency funded while lawmakers negotiate restrictions on ICE.

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Fetterman said he would always support deporting criminal migrants, but acknowledged the "tragedies that happened in Minneapolis" and said he warned Trump in a phone call to remove DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in order to avoid "a Mayorkas kind of situation."

The senator urged the president to "take the win that you secured our border," a move Fetterman endorsed.

"I don't think America really wants people going after otherwise, you know, hardworking migrants in these communities right now," the senator added. "That's where I'm at."

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Fox News Digital's Leo Briceno, Elizabeth Elkind and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

Max Bacall is an Associate Editor for the Flash/Media/Culture team at Fox News Digital.

Fetterman admits government shutdown won't stop ICE operations, says parties must negotiate a 'way forward'