DHS shutdown drags on as both sides dig in their heels on ICE reforms

The Department of Homeland Security shut down for the second time this month on Saturday. There appears to be no clear path toward reopening it as Democrats and Republicans show few signs of a willingness to compromise on reforms to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The partial government shutdown became inevitable late last week when Democrats in the Senate blocked a Republican-led bill to fund the department. That bill did not include any of Democrats’ demands for reining in the actions of DHS agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

Little has changed on either side since the contours of the disagreement began to take shape late last month. Democrats are still insisting that they will hold up any plan to fund the department unless major changes are made to how it operates. Republicans continue to say that those proposed reforms are nonstarters.

The shutdown doesn’t just affect agencies involved in immigration enforcement. Other parts of DHS — including the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service — have also had their funding lapse. Though most Americans may not feel the impact in the short term, the shutdown could cause significant disruptions if it drags on for weeks without a compromise being reached.

Where things stand

Democrats sent Republicans a set of 10 reforms they want included in any bill that provides DHS with long-term funding roughly two weeks ago. The top items on that list include mandating that federal immigration agents show their faces and their official IDs, requiring them to obtain warrants signed by a judge before entering private homes or businesses, upholding use-of-force standards and banning them from carrying out raids at “sensitive locations” like schools, churches and courts.

“These are common-sense proposals; they're supported by the American people," Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, told CNN on Sunday. "Why won't the Republicans go for them? They don't give any good answers. It's something that every police department does across the country, but ICE is rogue, out of control."

Republicans have roundly rejected Democrats’ proposals, describing them as both unfeasible and potentially dangerous.

"We'll see if they are at all serious about actually getting a solution to this, or whether they just want to play political games with these really important agencies,” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Fox News on Monday.

The White House made a counterproposal last week that Democratic leaders described as “not serious,” before responding with their own amended list of demands. Though the details of the competing plans have not been made public, neither appears to include enough concessions to bridge the divide between the two parties.

The only area of any real agreement is on body cameras. Republicans say they are open to requiring all ICE and CBP agents to wear body cameras and included $20 million for purchasing the cameras in the funding bill that stalled in the Senate last week. However, Democrats are calling for strict limitations on how they are used, with particular focus on the risk that the footage might be leveraged to monitor and track anti-ICE protestors.

What it means for DHS to be shut down

Unlike the record-setting 43-day shutdown that started last October last fall, or the brief 4-day partial shutdown that happened earlier this month, the current funding lapse only affects DHS. All other parts of the government are still open and operating normally.

Though the debate has centered entirely around ICE and CBP, DHS is a sprawling department that includes a long list of agencies focused on national security. In fact, ICE and CBP are the two parts of DHS that are best equipped to endure a lapse in funding, thanks to a massive infusion of money they received as part of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Republicans last summer.

While other DHS agencies like FEMA, the TSA and Coast Guard don’t have that financial backstop, it may take some time before everyday Americans notice the effects of the shutdown.

Some federal departments effectively grind to a halt when their funding runs out, furloughing the majority of their workers and pausing most of their operations. That’s not the case with DHS. The vast majority of the department’s employees work in roles that are designated as necessary for national security. That means they are continuing to do their jobs during the shutdown, though most won’t be paid until it’s over.

Extended shutdowns tend to lead to staffing shortages as workers grow increasingly discontent with having to stay on the job without getting paid. Staffing-related delays at airports have been one of the major pressure points that have helped bring some of the longest recent shutdowns to an end.

That could happen again this time, but it may take weeks before the shutdown begins to make a serious impact on travel. TSA employees received full paychecks on Tuesday and will get another partial check in early March. Their first scheduled payday when they would not receive any money is nearly a month away. Air traffic controllers, who are often linked to travel disruptions during shutdowns, are part of the Department of Transportation and not impacted by the shutdown.

One area where the shutdown may have a real and immediate impact is in oversight of DHS itself. The Office of the Inspector General, an independent government watchdog tasked with investigating the department’s operations, is currently conducting eight separate probes into various aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration campaign. Those inquiries include investigations into some of the department's most serious alleged offenses, its use of facial recognition technology, allegations of excessive force by its agents and accusations that people are being deported illegally. With 85% of the OIG’s operations reportedly on pause during the shutdown, that could mean major delays in the release of those critical reports.