SENATE Democrats were threatening last night to block legislation on funding for the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies, raising the prospect of a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s brutal “immigration enforcement” campaign.

Following the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, Senate Democrats set out a list of demands, including that officers remove their masks and identify themselves and also obtain warrants for arrests. If the demands are not met, the opposition said it was prepared to block the wide-ranging spending Bill, triggering a shutdown at midnight last night.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that Democrats won’t provide the necessary votes until US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is “reined in and overhauled.”

He insisted: “The American people support law enforcement, they support border security, they do not support Ice terrorising our streets and killing American citizens.”

There were signs of possible progress, with the two sides in talks on Wednesday evening, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity.

One option would be to strip the funding for the Homeland Security Department from the larger Bill, as Mr Schumer has requested, and extend it for a short period to allow time for negotiations, the person said.

It’s only two months since Democrats blocked a spending Bill over expiring federal healthcare subsidies, a dispute that closed the government for 43 days until a small group of dissidents broke ranks to strike a deal.

Meanwhile, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar blamed Mr Trump on Wednesday for threats to her safety, one day after she was squirted with an unknown liquid at an event in Minneapolis.

The man arrested for Tuesday’s attack had posted online in support of the president.

“Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” Ms Omar told a press conference.

Asked if she was nervous about appearing in public, she said: “Fear and intimidation doesn’t work on me.”

Mr Trump baselessly accused Ms Omar of staging the attack, telling ABC News: “She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.”

In a separate development, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday night that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had exceeded her authority when she ended legal protections that gave hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans permission to live and work in the US.