Funding for the Department of Homeland Security resumed Thursday after a 75-day partial shutdown that disrupted travel and federal services across the country. But House Democrats are already signaling they may push for another funding lapse in September if their demands for immigration enforcement reforms are not met.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN that Democrats would "absolutely" shut down DHS again unless Republicans agree to include proposed changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the next appropriations bill.
The reforms Democrats are seeking include prohibiting law enforcement officers from wearing masks while on duty and requiring judicial warrants for immigration-related arrests. Thompson argued these measures would increase accountability and transparency in federal immigration operations.
What the Right Is Saying
Republicans argue that Democrats are prioritizing policy demands over the well-being of federal workers and the traveling public. The 75-day shutdown created significant disruptions, including extended security lines at TSA checkpoints in major airports and utility shutoffs affecting Coast Guard installations.
House Republicans passed a funding measure Thursday that covers most DHS operations through September, including the Transportation Security Administration and Secret Service. However, ICE and CBP were excluded from that bill.
The GOP's strategy involves using the budget reconciliation process to fund those two agencies separately, which would allow the Senate to pass the measure with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes typically needed to advance legislation. This approach would bypass Democratic leverage in the Senate.
Conservative commentators have criticized Thompson's comments as dismissive of the impact shutdowns have on average Americans and federal employees who go without pay during funding lapses, noting that TSA officers and Coast Guard members are not political actors but civil servants performing essential national security functions.
What the Left Is Saying
Thompson said the Democratic position is about standing up for democratic principles and proper governance procedures. "In America, police shouldn't wear masks while walking the streets," he said during the CNN interview. "They need identification, they need cameras, and they need judicial warrants."
The Mississippi Democrat defended his party's willingness to risk another shutdown, telling anchor Victor Blackwell that such fights require sacrifice. "When you say 'absolutely,' that suggests that there could be another shutdown, and there could be another lapse in pay for those TSA workers, the Coast Guard," Blackwell pressed. Thompson responded: "Absolutely. Victor, look, we have to stand for democracy. If we have to fight for it, there has to be sacrifice."
Progressive advocacy groups have largely supported the Democratic approach, arguing that reforms to ICE and Customs and Border Protection are necessary to protect civil liberties and ensure constitutional protections apply equally to all individuals encountered by federal officers.
What the Numbers Show
The DHS shutdown lasted 75 days, making it the longest partial government closure in U.S. history, according to congressional records. The previous record was a 35-day shutdown spanning December 2018 into January 2019.
DHS employs approximately 240,000 people across its various agencies, including TSA, Secret Service, ICE, CBP, Coast Guard, and FEMA. During the shutdown, tens of thousands of those workers were required to work without pay or placed on furlough.
According to data from the Office of Personnel Management, federal employees missed an estimated $1 billion in wages during the 2018-19 shutdown alone. DHS was among the agencies most affected in that episode as well.
The Bottom Line
The confrontation over DHS funding reflects a broader struggle between the two parties over immigration enforcement policy and the use of government funding as leverage for unrelated policy changes. Democrats failed to secure ICE reforms during the recent 75-day standoff, while Republicans ultimately passed a funding bill without those provisions.
Republicans appear confident that their reconciliation strategy will allow them to fund ICE and CBP without Democratic support, potentially defusing the September showdown. However, if that approach faces procedural challenges or fails in the Senate, another DHS shutdown remains a real possibility heading into the fall.
Federal worker unions and travel industry groups are expected to intensify lobbying efforts against another shutdown, arguing that repeated funding crises damage recruitment and retention of essential personnel while creating unnecessary economic disruption. The next few months will determine whether both sides find a compromise or return to the political brinkmanship that defined the winter standoff.