The Senate on Feb. 24 failed to advance legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), extending the agency’s partial shutdown into its 11th day.
The measure received 50 votes in favor to 45 votes opposed, falling short of the 60 required to overcome a filibuster.
Although major enforcement arms such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are unaffected—having secured funding through 2029 under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act—other DHS components have been impacted. Among them is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The bill would provide $5.7 billion for FEMA, an increase of $873 million over fiscal year 2025 levels, excluding $26.367 billion designated for the Disaster Relief Fund.
It also allocates $3.25 billion to the United States Secret Service, including $44 million for planning and coordination of upcoming National Special Security Events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America250, and the 2028 Summer Olympics and 2028 Summer Paralympics.
Additionally, the legislation provides $7.96 billion for the Transportation Security Administration, including $300 million for checkpoint property screening systems. It fully funds exit lane staffing, the Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program, and the Canine Reimbursement Program, and sets aside $13.9 million to reimburse airports for installing explosive detection systems.
In addition, it gives $2.6 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, including $40 million to continue election security activities funded in fiscal year 2024.
The bill also allocates $122.9 million for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Of that amount, $112 million supports the E-Verify program and $10 million supports reducing the backlog of applications.
While roughly 96 percent of the federal government has been funded, DHS has remained partially shut down since Feb. 13.
Democratic lawmakers have said they will not support a DHS funding bill without changes to immigration enforcement policy, particularly regarding ICE operations. They have outlined 10 conditions for backing the legislation, following two separate shootings that killed protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis involving immigration agents.
Their proposals include limiting enforcement to targeted operations, requiring judicial warrants before entering private property, ending indiscriminate arrests, strengthening warrant standards, verifying citizenship status before placing individuals in immigration detention, and requiring agents to clearly identify themselves.
Additional demands would require officers to display their agency affiliation, last name, and a unique identification number, and to verbally provide that information upon request. Democrats are also seeking to prohibit immigration enforcement actions at “sensitive locations,” including churches, schools, child-care facilities, courts, medical facilities, and polling places.
DHS has used administrative warrants. Although federal immigration officers are not required to wear body cameras, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem recently said all immigration agents in Minneapolis would start using them.
Border czar Tom Homan has defended agents wearing masks as Democrats want them to be maskless.
“I don’t like the masks either, but because threats against ICE officers, you know, are up over 1,500 percent, actual assaults and threats are up over 8,000 percent, these men and women have to protect themselves,” Homan said during a recent interview with fill-in anchor Ed O’Keefe on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Homan has also said that federal law allows for administrative warrants to be used.
The Trump administration has not responded to the other Democratic demands, such as avoiding “sensitive locations.”
The White House and Republican lawmakers have rejected those conditions set by Democrats. On Feb. 18, the White House dismissed a Democratic counterproposal to fund DHS as “very unserious.”
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