Why not keep it shut for a year or two and postpone the reopening of our borders?

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Senate passes federal funding compromise as Democrats score victory in DHS revolt

The Senate passed it, but not the House, so we’ll see.

The continuing short-term spending resolution — not a budget; we haven’t had one of those in years, and probably never will again —contains all the usual billions directed to individual legislators’ personal pork barrel projects, so that’s all normal and business as usual. It does not address funding and “reform” of The Department of Homeland Security and in particular, ICE and that’s the real catastrophe that the Democrats a planning: a permanent end of all deportations. “If you’re here, you can stay here; if you come, you can remain — welcome to America, and don’t forget to vote for us.”

“Among the most difficult requests is the requirement of judicial warrants, rather than administrative warrants, for ICE agents to make arrests.” “

"These are not radical demands," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "They're basic standards the American people already expect from law enforcement. I hope we can get voting quickly here in the Senate today so we can move forward on the important work of reining in ICE. The clock is ticking."

What’s going on here is this: unlike an administrative warrant, a judicial warrant requires that a federal judge, rather than an administrative hearing officer make a determination of probable cause for arrest for each and every case. Because I’m lazy, I’ll use an AI summary here: it’s accurate:

AI Overview

Yes, a criminal warrant requires a significantly higher standard of proof (probable cause) than an administrative warrant, which typically requires a lower, more flexible standard to ensure regulatory compliance

. Criminal warrants, signed by a judge, authorize searches or arrests, while administrative warrants are often issued by agencies for civil enforcement. 

Key differences between the two include:

  • Standard of Proof: Criminal warrants require probable cause to believe a specific crime was committed and evidence exists in a specific location. Administrative warrants, such as for inspections, only require a "lower standard of probable cause" or that the search meets reasonable legislative or administrative standards.

  • Issuing Authority: A neutral judge or magistrate issues criminal warrants. Administrative warrants are often issued directly by government agency officials (e.g., ICE) without prior judicial approval.

  • Purpose & Authority: Criminal warrants allow for arrests and the seizure of evidence for prosecution. Administrative warrants are used to ensure compliance with regulations and do not authorize searches of private, non-public areas without consent.

Federal dockets are already swamped, and judges are not required to review and rule on warrant applications within any specific time limit, so they won’t; they’ll let them pile up in the courtroom basement, to be reached “when I get around to them”, and even assuming a federal judge is willing to order an illegal alien to be detained — many or most of them refuse — it will be years, even decades before a case is reached. And then, of course, the army of leftist pro bono lawyers will appeal.

For now, Republicans say that they’ll never agree to this change, but given their history of caving, they likely will. Even if they don’t, the Democrats will bide their time until they regain control, possibly as soon as this November. When they do, the country will cease to have borders.