The Department of Homeland Security entered its second month of partial funding on Feb. 14, leaving Transportation Security Administration officers at airports across the country working without pay.
TSA agents missed their first full paycheck on Friday, March 13, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing partial government shutdown that affects DHS and its agencies.
The partial shutdown began after congressional Democrats and President Trump failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the DHS through September. The deadlock centers on disagreements over immigration enforcement tactics.
What the Right Is Saying
The Department of Homeland Security has blamed Democrats for the shutdown, with repeated posts on its official X account attributing the funding gap to congressional Democrats. The department used similar language during a shutdown in late 2025, prompting complaints that certain government agencies had violated the Hatch Act by using their platforms to place blame on what DHS described as the "Radical Left."
DHS officials have emphasized that TSA agents are not among those receiving pay through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which provided backpay for some federal workers during last year's shutdown. The department has maintained that agents must continue working without compensation until Congress passes a continuing resolution.
The White House has called on Democrats to pass a clean funding bill, arguing that immigration enforcement is essential to national security and that policy disputes should not hold hostage the paychecks of frontline workers.
What the Left Is Saying
Democrats in Congress refused to fund the department over objections to its immigration enforcement operations, specifically following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year. Democrats say they will hold their votes until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations.
Progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups have called for several policy changes, including prohibiting ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, requiring independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing by federal agents, mandating warrants signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear identification and remove their masks.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has argued that funding DHS without these protections would enable what Democrats describe as reckless immigration enforcement. The Democratic position emphasizes that agents who commit violence against civilians should face accountability.
What the Numbers Show
The partial shutdown affecting DHS began on Feb. 14, making it the second partial government shutdown of 2026. TSA agents missed their first full paycheck on March 13.
DHS has claimed that more than 300 agents have quit since the start of the shutdown on Feb. 14, representing a significant workforce reduction at airport security checkpoints.
Passengers at airports across the United States have experienced longer wait times at TSA security checkpoints as the shutdown continues. The five major airline CEOs — from American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United — have publicly called for Congress to restore funding through a bipartisan solution.
The letter from Airlines 4 American states that the problem is solvable and that solutions are on the table, urging Congress to move forward on bipartisan proposals that would get federal aviation workers paid during shutdowns.
The Bottom Line
The partial DHS shutdown has left thousands of TSA agents working without pay while the agency faces staffing challenges. With more than 300 agents having resigned since Feb. 14 and passengers experiencing longer wait times at airports, pressure is mounting on Congress to find a compromise.
Democrats are holding out for policy changes to immigration enforcement, while the White House and DHS argue that a clean funding bill should pass. The next test will be whether congressional negotiators can bridge the gap on immigration policy reforms in exchange for continuing budget authority.
Airline executives have entered the debate, arguing that the stalemate affects aviation operations and passenger safety. Watch for potential movement on a continuing resolution that could include modest immigration policy concessions, or a separate appropriations measure specifically addressing TSA worker pay.