ICE, Border Protection leaders testify before House panel ahead of DHS funding deadline

The leaders of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection testify Tuesday before a House panel, ahead of a congressional funding deadline for the Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency under which they operate. 

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Customs and Border Commissioner Rodney Scott will testify before the House Homeland Security Committee. They will be joined by Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow. They also will  testify Thursday in the Senate, according to NPR.

Congressional Republicans are attempting to fully fund DHS, as Democrats are refusing to until the department undergoes reforms. 

Congress passed a spending bill earlier this month to keep the federal government fully operational, except for DHS, amid a federal crackdown on illegal migrants in the country that has resulted in the recent deaths of two Minnesota residents during enforcement operations. One was killed by an ICE agent and the other by a Border Protection agent. 

"Transparency and communication are needed to turn the temperature down," New York GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino, chairman of the House panel, said ahead of the hearing. 

On the issuing of funding DHS, Democrats are requesting that federal immigration officers wear body cameras, display identifying information on their uniforms, and prohibit them from wearing face coverings.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say Republicans have shared only the outline of a counter-proposal that included neither details nor legislative text.