US Department of Homeland Security to go into shutdown due to funding lapse

The impasse comes as Trump’s Democratic rivals demand reforms to immigration operations after deadly shootings in Minnesota.Published On 13 Feb 2026The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – which includes agencies that oversee immigration enforcement and disaster response – is expected to run out of funds after legislators failed to avert a partial government shutdown.The Senate adjourned on Friday without reaching a deal to pass budget legislation for DHS. The House of Representatives, meanwhile, had started its weeklong recess on Thursday evening.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why is a moderate Democrat’s primary loss being called an AIPAC backfire?list 2 of 3US border chief says Trump agrees to end deportation surge in Minnesotalist 3 of 3Trump says planning to ‘make visit’ to Venezuela following Maduro abductionend of listThat leaves a DHS shutdown all but inevitable when the funding expires at midnight in Washington, DC, on Saturday (05:00 GMT).The impasse was spurred, in part, by the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which resulted in the killing of two US citizens in January.Reports had emerged of masked immigration agents threatening bystanders and using violence disproportionately.On February 4, Democratic leaders in Congress issued a list of demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency that falls under the DHS.The demands included banning ICE agents from wearing masks to conceal their identities, prohibiting racial profiling and ending immigration raids on “sensitive locations” like schools and churches.Without such “common sense reforms”, the Democrats threatened to withhold their votes from any funding legislation for DHS.But President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has rejected the Democrats’ demands, calling them unreasonable.Republicans control both the Senate and the House. But a legislative rule in the Senate, known as the filibuster, requires lawmakers to reach a 60-vote threshold to pass major legislation.On Thursday, the 100-seat Senate only saw 52 votes in favour of the funding legislation, with 47 opposed. Nearly all the chamber’s Democrats, save Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, stood united to block the bill.