As the clock struck midnight on February 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially shut down, marking the second major government funding lapse in just over a year. The immediate cause: a bitter deadlock in Congress over contentious immigration enforcement reforms, a dispute made all the more urgent by the recent deaths of two American citizens during a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota. With lawmakers having left Washington for recess, the shutdown is poised to last at least ten days—if not longer—unless an unexpected breakthrough brings them back to the negotiating table.
At the heart of this impasse are deep disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over the future of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both agencies now under intense scrutiny. According to BBC News, the shutdown is expected to force tens of thousands of federal employees—including Transportation Security Officers, Coast Guard members, and cybersecurity personnel—to work without pay or face furloughs. Disaster relief funding through FEMA will also be severely reduced, and services across the agency will be scaled back. Yet, paradoxically, the immigration enforcement arms at the center of the dispute—ICE and CBP—will remain largely unaffected, shielded by $75 billion in funding passed last year as part of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The shutdown’s roots go back to January, when ICE agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minneapolis residents protesting aggressive immigration raids. The incident, widely reported by Reuters and AFP, unleashed a firestorm of criticism and galvanized Democrats to demand sweeping reforms. On February 4, Democratic leaders presented a list of ten demands, ranging from requiring ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants before entering private homes, to banning the use of masks, mandating body cameras, ending racial profiling, and prohibiting raids at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and houses of worship. They also called for independent investigations into misconduct and a legally binding use-of-force policy.
“The Department of Homeland Security is shutting down tonight because Republicans refuse to implement popular reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection—the agencies responsible for the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) declared in a statement released on February 13. “The law-abiding agencies under the Department of Homeland Security should not be held hostage because Republicans refuse to agree to popular reforms for lawless agencies.” DeLauro introduced H.R. 7481, a bill that would fund DHS except for ICE, CBP, and the Office of the Secretary, while negotiations on reforms continue.
Senate Democrats, for their part, stood firm. On February 12, they blocked two Republican funding bills that lacked the demanded reforms, with only Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman breaking ranks to vote in favor. “The Republican bill on the floor allows ICE to smash in doors without warrants, to wear masks and not be identified, to use children as bait for their parents,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a video message, as reported by AFP. “We are keeping our word: No funding for ICE until it is reined in, until the violence ends.”
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, have pushed back, describing the Democrats’ demands as unreasonable and warning that the shutdown would do nothing to curtail ICE or CBP operations. “The things they want to shut down aren’t going to shut down,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) told NBC News. “ICE is fully funded. The Border Patrol is fully funded. What they’re doing is hurting TSA agents, hurting air traffic controllers that would get a pay raise, keeping men and women from the Coast Guard from getting paid, making sure we can’t fully fund FEMA.”
Meanwhile, the practical effects of the shutdown are already rippling through the country. Travel and hospitality groups, including Airlines for America, issued a joint statement warning that the shutdown could lead to significant travel delays, as TSA agents—who fall under DHS—may be forced to work without pay. “Travelers and the US economy cannot afford to have essential TSA personnel working without pay, which increases the risk of unscheduled absences and call outs, and ultimately can lead to higher wait times and missed or delayed flights,” the groups said, according to BBC News. The US Coast Guard, also under DHS, faces the prospect of suspending non-critical missions and leaving about 56,000 workers unpaid, as Vice Admiral Thomas Allan explained to lawmakers.
The political stakes are high, and both parties are feeling the pressure. Democrats, emboldened by public anger over the Minnesota deaths, see an opportunity to push for long-sought reforms. A recent poll by PBS News, NPR, and Marist found that 65 percent of respondents believe ICE has gone too far in its crackdown. Another NBC News poll showed President Trump’s approval on border security and immigration has dropped to 40 percent, with 60 percent disapproving—a sharp reversal from the previous year.
Republicans, however, argue that some reforms are already underway. The Trump administration has deployed body cameras for officers in the field and replaced the Border Patrol commander in Minneapolis, steps they say address some Democratic concerns. On February 13, President Trump announced the end of the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. “We always have to protect our law enforcement,” Trump said when pressed by reporters about the ongoing negotiations.
Yet, with Congress out of session until February 23 and no clear path to compromise, the shutdown could easily stretch past President Trump’s State of the Union address on February 24. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has told members to be ready to return if a deal materializes, but for now, the capital remains in a holding pattern. “The path forward is simple: Negotiate serious guardrails that protect Americans, that rein in ICE, and stop the violence,” Schumer insisted to reporters.
This latest shutdown is narrower in scope than last year’s record-breaking 43-day closure, which affected every federal agency and caused widespread disruptions. This time, every department apart from DHS is fully funded through September, and the Federal Aviation Administration—which oversees air traffic controllers—has already secured its budget for the year. Still, for the thousands of DHS employees facing uncertainty and for travelers bracing for longer airport lines, the impact is anything but abstract.
As the nation waits for Congress to break the deadlock, the debate over immigration enforcement—and the future of the agencies tasked with securing America’s borders—remains as heated and unresolved as ever.