The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could face a shutdown lasting at least 10 days after the Congress failed to reach an agreement on funding, deepening a standoff between the White House and Democratic leaders over immigration enforcement reforms.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security formally lapsed at 12:01am, Saturday after lawmakers left Washington without striking a deal.
The House and Senate are not scheduled to return until February 23, raising the possibility that DHS operations could remain partially shuttered for at least 10 days unless lawmakers reconvene sooner to vote on a compromise.
According to NBC News, the impasse follows continued negotiations between the White House and Democratic leaders over proposed changes to immigration enforcement after federal agents killed two American citizens in Minnesota last month.
Although both sides have traded offers, no agreement has been reached.
With the lapse in funding, federal employees at agencies under DHS — including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard — will not be paid during the shutdown.
However, most are expected to continue working because their roles are deemed essential.
Immigration enforcement agencies at the heart of the dispute, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), are expected to be less affected.
Both agencies still have access to $75 billion approved last year under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” allowing them to continue operations and pay employees.
Before lawmakers departed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said members were prepared to return if a deal emerged. “I have let people know to be available to get back here if there’s some sort of a deal they strike to vote on it,” he said.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans failed to advance legislation to fund DHS for the rest of the fiscal year, falling short of the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster. The vote ended 52-47, with only Sen. John Fetterman joining Republicans.
Democrats have insisted they will not support another short-term funding extension without reforms.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “The path forward is simple: Negotiate serious guardrails that protect Americans, that rein in ICE, and stop the violence.” He added, “Americans are watching what’s happened in neighborhood after neighborhood across the country. They know it’s wrong. They know it’s excessive. And they want Congress, the Senate, to fix it.”
A senior White House official said Democrats rejected the administration’s latest counterproposal. “We’re not going to negotiate in public,” the official said, adding that a “particularly challenging aspect” of Democratic demands is ending arrests without judicial warrants. “The administration remains interested in working with these guys in good faith, but we will not be held hostage on an issue the president was elected on.”
Republicans, while blaming Democrats for the shutdown, argue immigration enforcement will continue uninterrupted, even as other DHS functions face funding uncertainty.
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