DHS is days from a shutdown as talks on curbing immigration agents stall, with Democrats insisting on new limits for Immigration and Customs Enforcement while Republicans and the White House reject broad changes.
Congress faces a hard deadline after lawmakers separated Department of Homeland Security money from a broader spending package and extended it only through February 13, 2026. Over the past 48 hours, Democratic leaders said a White House counteroffer on immigration enforcement was “incomplete,” while Republicans warned the opposition’s demands are unrealistic. The standoff raises the odds of a weekend lapse in DHS funding if no deal is reached by Friday night.
Democrats want to write new guardrails into law following January’s fatal shootings in Minneapolis that intensified scrutiny of federal enforcement. Their list centers on transparency and due process: judicial warrants to enter private property, tighter use-of-force rules, visible identification for officers, and a ban on racial profiling. They also seek to end the practice of agents wearing face coverings and to require body cameras. Democrats are pressing to ban masks and require body cameras, while clarifying that body‑cam footage shouldn’t be used to track protesters.
Republican leaders and the White House say some steps are negotiable—such as expanding body‑camera use—but argue that removing masks or limiting operations could endanger agents and impede enforcement. GOP leaders have branded the broader package “unrealistic.”
If funding lapses, front‑line DHS operations would continue at reduced capacity while many civilian staff are furloughed. Airports could face longer lines as TSA staffing strains, and disaster‑recovery work at FEMA could slow. The shutdown risk also compounds political pressure after a short government‑wide closure earlier this month that ended when Congress carved out a two‑week DHS extension.
Lawmakers have floated several escape hatches. One idea would pass most DHS components now and keep negotiating over the most contentious pieces tied to ICE and Border Patrol. Another would be a brief stopgap to buy more time. But Democrats say they won’t back another extension without concrete reforms, and Republicans are signaling little appetite to split the bill. With the clock ticking, any agreement will likely hinge on a narrow set of accountability measures that both sides can accept.
Funding is set to expire on February 13, 2026, positioning Congress for a last‑minute sprint—and testing whether immigration policy can be reshaped in a shutdown showdown.