Key takeaways:
- Bipartisan senators met with White House border czar Tom Homan to discuss restoring DHS funding and immigration enforcement reforms after a partial shutdown began on February 14, causing operational disruptions and unpaid federal workers.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned the upcoming Easter recess could be canceled if no deal is reached soon, as staffing shortages—especially among TSA officers—have led to longer airport wait times and checkpoint closures.
- Despite some progress in talks and administration proposals on law enforcement reforms, Democrats demand significant ICE reforms and have blocked full DHS funding without them, while Republicans insist on funding the entire department, leaving the shutdown unresolved.
Washington — After more than a month of a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bipartisan talks to restore funding and reform immigration enforcement saw a notable development on Thursday. A group of senators met with Tom Homan, the White House’s border czar, in the Capitol to discuss potential paths forward. The meeting marked the first in-person engagement between key lawmakers and the administration since DHS funding lapsed on February 14, leading to significant operational disruptions across multiple agencies.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) emphasized the urgency of resolving the impasse, warning that the Senate’s upcoming two-week Easter recess could be canceled if a deal is not reached by the end of next week. “I can’t see us taking a break if the government is still shut down,” Thune said, underscoring the growing pressure on lawmakers to find common ground. The shutdown has left thousands of federal employees working without pay, including over 60,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, whose missed paychecks have contributed to staffing shortages and longer wait times at airports nationwide. Philadelphia International Airport, for example, recently closed multiple TSA checkpoints due to insufficient personnel.
Thursday’s meeting included a bipartisan group of senators, such as Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Katie Britt (Alabama), and John Hoeven (North Dakota), as well as Democrats Patty Murray (Washington), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), and independent Angus King (Maine). These lawmakers, many of whom serve on appropriations committees or have experience negotiating past government shutdowns, engaged in what some described as a productive conversation, though no agreement was reached. “I think we made some progress,” Hoeven said, while Murray noted that the parties remain “a long ways apart.”
The talks come amid heightened scrutiny of DHS leadership and immigration enforcement practices following the January killings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minnesota. President Donald Trump appointed Homan to oversee immigration operations in the state after criticism of previous leadership. During the meeting, Homan and James Braid, the White House’s head of legislative affairs, presented a letter outlining five areas where the administration is willing to negotiate with Democrats. These include expanding the use of body-worn cameras for law enforcement, limiting civil immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools, and requiring proper identification for all DHS law enforcement officers engaged in enforcement activities.
Despite these overtures, Democrats have maintained that they will not support funding DHS without significant reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They have also sought to pass funding bills for individual DHS agencies, such as TSA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but Republicans have blocked these efforts, insisting on funding the entire department as a whole. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urged Republicans to bring forward legislation to pay TSA agents and reopen non-ICE parts of DHS, stating, “We should be able to get this done today.”
As the Senate prepares to recess, the standoff continues with no clear resolution in sight. Both parties acknowledge the need to restore paychecks to federal workers and ensure the safety and security of Americans, but significant policy disagreements remain. The outcome of these negotiations will determine whether DHS can resume full operations or if the shutdown will extend further, exacerbating challenges at airports and other critical infrastructure nationwide.
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