The government shutdown is affecting airports — yet not ICE

Disorder reigned at airports nationwide last weekend, with thousands of passengers reportedly enduring lengthy security queues due to lack of staff. Workers from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Coast Guard have sought help from food banks after weeks without wages. Yet in the midst of a partial government shutdown intended to halt the Department of Homeland Security’s mass arrests and deportations, federal agents have carried on with their anti-immigrant operations without pause — and for now, there seems to be little recourse available.

DHS has remained unfunded for four weeks in a standoff regarding immigration enforcement. Congressional Democrats assert that the impasse will persist until the White House consents to a series of modifications at ICE and CBP. However, while substantial portions of DHS are impacted, ICE and CBP continue to possess ample financial resources. Trump’s hallmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which narrowly passed last fall despite unified Democratic opposition, allocated a total of $170 billion to these agencies for immigration enforcement until 2029. A significant portion of this funding was directed to ICE, which received $45 billion for the development of new detention facilities and $30 billion for staff recruitment and training. The appropriations currently being debated would provide ICE with further funding in addition to this $75 billion. Such long-term funding arrangements are rare, insulating these agencies from political pressures.

Leveraging the OBBBA’s resources, ICE continues to apprehend immigrants — including a journalist from Nashville who often covers the agency and has an asylum application pending — and holding them in inadequate facilities. Notably, in spite of the shutdown, Customs and Border Protection is still actively seeking new sites for its “smart wall” along the US-Mexico border, even momentarily contemplating erecting a barrier in Big Bend National Park in Texas. (The agency has sinceabandoned that plan, likely due to local opposition.) Currently, most DHS staff, including TSA agents and CBP personnel, are working without remuneration, although they will receive backpay once funding is reinstated.

Democrats are advocating for a range of concessions to restore funding for DHS during this fiscal period. They are pushing for “targeted enforcement” instead of random patrols, the abolition of racial profiling, a policy on reasonable use of force, and enhanced training for officers. Democratic lawmakers, who liken ICE and CBP’s undercover operatives to a “paramilitary police,” demand DHS to ban masks and standardize uniforms for field personnel. They have also suggested that officers don body cameras and IDs showing their agency affiliation, last name, and distinct officer number.

“These are sensible reforms, ones that the public recognizes and expects from law enforcement,” remarked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during a January press briefing. As of now, these proposals have made no progress.

Democrats have achieved one significant accomplishment in this struggle: Trump dismissed DHS secretary Kristi Noem last Thursday before a House vote on DHS funding. Nonetheless, many Democrats are dissatisfied with Noem’s removal. “The issues within this agency go beyond any individual,” Schumer declared at a press event following the vote last Thursday. “The problems are systemic. The president must put an end to the violence and rein in ICE.” Following Noem’s firing, the House approved the funding bill, yet Senate Democrats remained unyielding.

“Kristi Noem wasn’t part of any negotiations,” added House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). It has long been recognized that Trump advisor Stephen Miller effectively manages DHS, regardless of the secretary. “We interacted with the White House previously, and we will persist in engaging with the White House at this juncture,” Jeffries stated.

There is minimal incentive for the administration to concede to the Democrats’ requests. The White House and Republican congress members have attributed the shutdown to “Radical Left Democrats,” asserting that their unwillingness to fund DHS jeopardizes American safety. Although necessary federal employees are still working during the shutdown — in certain instances without compensation — Republicans have cautioned that the funding gap could hinder DHS’s ability to address “threats to our homeland,” particularly following the Trump administration’s recent incursion into Iran. Even if individual officers face pay disruption, the extraordinary funds ICE and CBP acquired from the OBBBA ensure the continuation of their activities.

Insights from last year’s government shutdown reveal much about ICE and CBP’s operations. During the 43-day funding interruption last fall, ICE deported around 56,000 individuals and detained about 65,000 people within the same period. However, as its operations were financed by OBBBA funds, ICE claimed in legal documents that they were not obligated to allow Democratic lawmakers access to inspect conditions in federal detention facilities as part of their oversight responsibilities.

The ramifications of the shutdown are not uniformly experienced among the various organizations within DHS. Ironically, given that Congress founded DHS in response to the September 11th attacks, the TSA has faced the most significant disruptions to date. Agents received roughly 30 percent of their pay last week but will not see any further compensation until DHS is financed, as reported by the Times. Entry points, including airports, remain predominantly operational. Although DHS initially indicated that TSA Precheck would be halted amid the shutdown, the program is currently functioning at most airports. On the other hand, Global Entry, overseen by CBP, is largely inactive.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which processes naturalizations, green cards, and other benefit applications, continues to operate. Unlike many other DHS branches, USCIS is primarily funded by fees, rendering it relatively unaffected by the funding dispute. Immigration courts likewise remain operational, as the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the federal authority that supervises the immigration court framework, falls under the Department of Justice.

Some DHS personnel, however, find themselves unemployed due to the shutdown. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) stated on Sunday that Democrats aim to fund most component agencies of DHS — such as the TSA, Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — independently.

Approximately 15 percent of FEMA staff are currently furloughed, while the remaining 85 percent are anticipated to continue working without pay. The New York Timeshas reported that FEMA’s disaster relief fund is capable of managing “current and expected” emergency response operations. Nonetheless, its capacity to respond to a substantial disaster, “would be significantly strained,” remarked Gregg Phillips, the associate administrator for the agency’s Office of Response and Recovery, in testimony last week.

Nearly two-thirds of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s workforce is on furlough. Many of the 888 employees categorized by the agency as “critical to protecting life and property” have been forced to work without compensation.

“Let’s expedite the passing of those funding bills,” Kaine insisted. Let’s restrict discussions around ICE and CBP reforms exclusively to those agencies and fund the rest. Until now, Republicans have obstructed those initiatives.”