DHS Shutdown Ends For TSA And Secret Service, But Border Security Left Hanging

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown is now set to be largely over, after the House of Representatives approved the Senate-backed plan to fund every element of the department except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A reconciliation bill is anticipated to fund the other two critical law enforcement agencies.

The move in the House was conducted with a voice vote, according to Fox News.

President Donald Trump will now have to sign off on the funding, as there were concerns once again about being able to pay employees of the department starting on Friday.

The shutdown began in mid-February, as Democrats wanted sweeping federal immigration enforcement reforms in opposition to the Trump administration, particularly Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.

On April 1, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) came to an agreement with the president on how to best tackle the shutdown, as the Senate passed the deal that left out ICE and CBP in late March, whereas House Republicans passed a 60-day continuing resolution that funded everything.

“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” the Republican leaders stated at the time.

“While we hoped they would accept the 60-day CR to fund the Department entirely so that bipartisan negotiations could continue, it is now abundantly clear that Democrats place allegiance to their radical left-wing base above all else — including their own power of the purse — which means open borders and protecting criminal illegal aliens,” the statement continued.

While Democrats wanted a long list of changes made to immigration enforcement, including the end of masking and the use of judicial warrants, it’s highly unlikely they will get the reforms they sought given the workaround nature of a reconciliation deal. A reconciliation bill allows the Senate to bypass its 60-vote procedural threshold, but it follows strict rules about what’s allowed and not allowed in the legislation.

The DHS shutdown most clearly played out before Americans due to long TSA lines, as agents were going without pay for weeks until executive action was taken.