Partial DHS shutdown deepens standoff over immigration enforcement reforms

A partial government shutdown has begun after Congress failed to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, leaving the agency the only major component of the federal government without money for the remainder of fiscal year 2026. Lawmakers left Washington without a deal as negotiations over oversight of immigration enforcement remain stalled, and the two chambers are not scheduled to return until Feb. 23 unless leaders recall members sooner.

The impasse grew out of demands from Senate Democrats for new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. On Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked two funding bills because the measures did not include the immigration reforms, the BBC reported. Democrats’ proposals include a series of operational and accountability changes, restricting roving patrols, tightening parameters around warrants for searches and arrests, strengthening use-of-force policies, requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and removing masks for officers, a list assembled from KSBW and BBC reporting.

Republicans have resisted nearly all of those changes, and some pressed for concessions such as action on so-called sanctuary cities, deepening the stalemate. "Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security," the Associated Press reported.

Most DHS operations will continue in the near term, but with real strain. About 90 percent of DHS employees are expected to remain on the job despite the lapse, according to the AP, and nearly all will work without pay until the funding gap is resolved. The Transportation Security Administration will keep roughly 61,000 employees on duty at more than 430 commercial airports, CNN reported, even as its acting administrator warned in written testimony that "Many live paycheck to paycheck." Airport lines may lengthen if absenteeism rises as the shutdown drags on.

The U.S. Coast Guard faces acute pressure. Vice Admiral Thomas Allan told lawmakers that going a few days without funding would mean about 56,000 workers going without pay, "leading the agency to suspend missions that were not 'critical or lifesaving,'" the BBC reported. FEMA, the Secret Service and other DHS components are also listed among agencies affected by the lapse.

Some functions tied to border enforcement are likely to be less disrupted because of previous budget actions. BBC coverage said ICE will not be significantly affected due to funding from the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed last year; the AP cited a 2025 tax and spending cut law as having provided billions more that can be tapped for deportation operations. Those differing attributions underscore how recent legislative changes have insulated certain enforcement activities even as oversight and accountability demands mount.

President Donald Trump told reporters he expected negotiators to keep talking, saying "we'll see what happens" and adding, "We always have to protect our law enforcement," according to the BBC. Tom Homan, the White House border czar, expressed reluctance about barring agents from wearing masks while acknowledging officers' safety needs: "I don't like the masks, either," Homan said. "But, he said, 'These men and women have to protect themselves,'" the AP reported.

The shutdown elevates immediate economic strain on lower-paid DHS staff and raises public safety concerns for communities that rely on routine Coast Guard missions and FEMA response capacity. If the standoff persists, lawmakers' inability to reconcile accountability demands with enforcement priorities could deepen inequities in who bears the costs of another political impasse.