Funding lapsed on Feb. 13 after a final funding patch was rejected in the Senate.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains in shutdown after lawmakers last week failed to reach an agreement to fund the agency.
Funding lapsed on Feb. 13 after a final monetary patch was rejected in the Senate.
It included none of the reform provisions requested by Senate Democrats, who uniformly rejected the legislation, with the exception of Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
Since then, lawmakers have left Washington to return to their districts, with the Senate not set to return until Feb. 23—setting up a minimum 10-day shutdown.
However, with the current state of negotiations, that shutdown could go for much longer.
Here’s what to know.
State of Current Funding
Congress has funded 96 percent of the federal government.
On Feb. 3, President Donald Trump signed legislation that finalized full-year funding for most of the government, completing the administration’s work on 11 of 12 required annual spending bills.
Three of the appropriations bills were enacted in November, ending the 43-day government shutdown, which was the longest in U.S. history.
As part of signing the remaining appropriations bills, Trump signed a two-week extension of Department of Homeland Security funding.
That funding patch ran out on Feb. 13, leaving key agencies under DHS—including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard—without funding.
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), subsidiaries of DHS, were funded through 2029 in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted last year.
Reform Demands
Funding for DHS was split off from the larger package signed by Trump in line with demands from Senate Democrats, whose support is necessary to pass funding for the agency through the upper chamber.
Democrats withdrew their support for the package after a second American citizen, Alex Pretti, was killed on Jan. 24 in a shooting involving federal immigration agents. In an earlier incident on Jan. 7, Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that three core reforms to ICE and CBP must be included in the legislation to win Democrats’ support.
First, Schumer said, Democrats are calling for “an end to roving patrols” of ICE agents in U.S. cities.
He called for a solution that would require warrants and coordination with local and state law enforcement.
“Second, we want to enforce accountability,” Schumer said. “Federal agents should be held to the same use-of-force policies that apply to state and local law enforcement, and be held accountable when they violate these rules.”
Finally, Schumer said Democrats are calling for reforms to require ICE and other immigration agents to wear body cameras, remove masks, and always carry proper state identification.
By Joseph Lord and Jackson Richman
