Another DHS Shutdown Looms as Feb. 13 Deadline Approaches
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A partial government shutdown recently came to an end, and another is looming. If Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on potential restrictions for immigration enforcement tactics by Feb. 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will shut down.
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The debate over DHS funding has increased following two fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill on Tuesday, ending the partial federal shutdown that began last weekend. The President moved quickly to sign the measure into effect after it received some bipartisan support and passed in the House with a 217-214 vote.
The bill provides funding for the Pentagon, Education, Treasury, Labor, and State Departments through the end of the fiscal year in Sept. 2026. It also includes a two-week short-term measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded through the end of next week. If a deal to keep the DHS funded and enact immigration enforcement reform is not reached by Feb. 13, then the DHS will shut down.
“ [Repeated government shutdowns and short-term agreements] It erodes trust, especially for Black Americans who already feel the system isn’t built for us. It reinforces the idea that the government is unreliable…Long term, it fuels cynicism, disengagement, and radicalization,” said third-year political science major Richard Johnson.
Democrats are not backing down. In a letter to Republican leaders on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer laid out 10 key demands from Democrats on DHS funding, including judicial warrants before agents can enter private property, a ban on ICE wearing face masks, requiring the use of body cameras, and new laws for use-of-force standards.
"Furthermore, there are steps that the Trump administration has the power to take right now to show good faith, including fully ramping down the surge in Minnesota and removing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem from her position," Jeffries and Schumer wrote in the letter, according to ABC News.
Bipartisan negotiations did not begin on Wednesday, and Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House on recess a day early on Wednesday afternoon.
According to ABC News, Sen. Katie Britt took to X and called the Democrats’ proposal “ a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press.” She continued, “This is NOT negotiating in good faith, and it’s NOT what the American people want. They continue to play politics to their radical base at the expense of the safety of Americans."
So far, neither side has crafted legislation to address next week’s deadline.
“I believe it shows a little weakness on the Democratic point of view since the major lead they are taking is body cameras for ICE instead of structural regulations and actual guaranteed consequences for mishaps that happen in the field,” said fourth-year political science major Jordan Hall.
The impact of shutting down the DHS next week goes deeper than just ICE. Although ICE is getting most of the attention, the DHS appropriations bill also funds TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service.
