House Democrats Seek to Force Vote on Homeland Security Funding That Excludes ICE, CBP

House Democrats are trying to force a floor vote on a bill that would fund Transportation Security Administration agents and other non-immigration agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—without providing money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Customs and Border Protection.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced a discharge petition on Wednesday on the Capitol steps, calling on a handful of House Republicans to break with their party and sign it.

“House Democrats aren’t show horses, we’re workhorses,” Jeffries said on March 18 alongside a large portion of House Democrats gathered on the steps. “This ain’t for show. This is for the American people.”

The move comes on day 32 of the partial DHS shutdown, which began on Feb. 14 after Democrats refused to vote for any funding bill that includes money for ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without first requiring reforms to how those agencies conduct enforcement operations. Both parties have failed to reach a compromise since then.

The Democratic demands stem from two separate shootings earlier this year that killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, during protests against an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.

The discharge petition targets legislation introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, that would fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

It would not include funding for ICE or CBP, as Democrats are still working with Republicans and the White House on reforms.

“Republicans are actively blocking my bill to fund TSA,” DeLauro said. “A bill which would end airport lines, stop the delays, pay the hard-working public servants who follow the law, and the people who keep us safe.”

A discharge petition requires 218 signatures to force a bill to the floor, bypassing House Republican leadership. Democrats hold 213 seats, meaning they need at least five Republicans to join them.

Jeffries said the effort is achievable, noting that House Democrats have launched three successful discharge petitions in this session of Congress, most recently to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits. “Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week,” he said.

The shutdown has sent cascading effects through the agencies that Democrats are seeking to fund. More than 300 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, and unscheduled absences have more than doubled at some airports.

“[Republicans] have the power to end this right now. They choose not to,” DeLauro said, referring to the DHS employees working without pay.

Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) said wait times at one Houston airport exceeded two and a half hours last week. Roughly 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay.

Republicans have said that Democrats are responsible for those consequences by refusing to pass a full DHS funding bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have pushed for a clean appropriations bill funding all DHS agencies through September.

ICE and CBP have continued operating unaffected throughout the shutdown. Both agencies received long-term funding through 2029 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law in July 2025, providing DHS with $165 billion in appropriations.

Jeffries listed the reforms that Democrats are seeking before agreeing to any ICE funding: mandatory body cameras, removal of face coverings during operations, judicial warrants before agents enter private property, independent investigations, an end to racial and language profiling, and a ban on enforcement near election sites, schools, hospitals, and houses of worship.

“And so, we have a choice. We can fund TSA, fund the Coast Guard, fund FEMA, fund our cybersecurity professionals, or continue to allow ICE to brutalize and, in some cases, kill American citizens or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” Jeffries said.

Republican leaders have strongly pushed back on the discharge petition effort. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that Democrats are holding TSA and FEMA hostage to protect what he called open border policies.

“Today is a direct result of Democrats taking the Department of Homeland Security hostage in order to protect criminal illegal aliens,” Johnson said.

Johnson said that stripping CBP funding would undermine national security, noting four possible terrorism-related attacks on U.S. soil in the past two weeks. He said Republicans have voted four times to fully fund DHS since the shutdown began, each time blocked by Democrats.

No Republicans have publicly stated they would sign onto the petition. Only a few dozen Democrats had signed onto the petition as of Wednesday afternoon, though most Democrats are expected to sign it, Jeffries said.