Senate Moves to Fund DHS While Cutting ICE and Border Patrol From Deal to End 40-Day Shutdown
The Senate voted unanimously early Friday to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after a 40-day shutdown, but without funding for immigration enforcement and deportation operations.
Senate agrees to fund DHS, except ICE and Border Patrol, in bid to end 40-day shutdown
The Senate voted unanimously early Friday to reopen the Department of Homeland Security after a 40-day shutdown, but without funding for immigration enforcement and deportation operations. The bipartisan agreement would restore funding to key agencies within DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while leaving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection without operating budgets. The deal represents a significant compromise after weeks of bitter partisan fighting over immigration policy that left tens of thousands of federal workers without pay.
The 40-day shutdown, one of the longest targeted closures of a single federal department in recent memory, had created mounting pressure on lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. Essential DHS employees had been working without pay for weeks, leading to reported staffing shortages at airports and growing concerns about national security vulnerabilities. The unanimous vote reflected a growing urgency among senators to restore basic government functions even as deep disagreements over immigration enforcement remained unresolved.
The decision to exclude ICE and Border Patrol from the funding package highlights the sharp divide in Congress over the administration's immigration priorities. Supporters of the deal argued that holding the entire department hostage over immigration policy disputes was untenable and that critical security functions needed to be restored immediately. Opponents, however, warned that the move could effectively hamstring immigration enforcement operations at a time when border security remains a top concern for many Americans.
The bill now heads to the House, where its fate remains uncertain. Leadership in the lower chamber has signaled willingness to consider the measure, though some members have expressed reluctance to approve any funding package that does not include full support for immigration enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the White House has not yet indicated whether the president would sign the legislation into law. If enacted, the bill would provide temporary funding through the end of the fiscal year while Congress continues to negotiate a longer-term resolution to the immigration impasse.