It’s Day 4 of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown — and it’s understandable if you hadn’t noticed, especially since congressional lawmakers and President Trump have demonstrated relatively little urgency about getting a funding deal done.
Democrats on Monday reportedly sent a counteroffer to the White House as they continue to seek restrictions on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in exchange for funding DHS. The department shut down on Saturday after two weeks of stopgap funding expired without a deal.
The shutdown affects a range of federal functions and services, including those of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and the Secret Service, in addition to Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Still, most of the department’s more than 270,000 employees are deemed essential, meaning that they are required to continue to work even if they don’t get paid until funding is restored.
The administration’s immigration crackdown is not expected to be disrupted given that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Republicans last year provided $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $65 billion for Customs and Border Protection
How we got here: After federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis, Democrats demanded changes to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. The list of demands issued by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries included a ban on federal agents wearing masks, an end to roving patrols and requirements that immigration officers wear body cameras and obtain judicial warrants for searches and arrests.
Democrats, emboldened by polling that finds most Americans think the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has gone too far, last week rejected a White House counteroffer as insufficient.
“It's very unfortunate that Republicans have decided that they would prefer to shut down FEMA, shut down the Coast Guard, and shut down TSA as opposed to actually getting ICE under control, reining them in because the American people know they have gone too far,” Jeffries told “PBS NewsHour” on Monday. He added that Democrats are trying to ensure that ICE and CBP behave like other law enforcement agencies in the country — and he criticized Trump for playing golf in Florida on Sunday, which Jeffries said displayed a lack of seriousness about shutdown talks.
Republicans have pushed back on some Democratic demands, including the idea of banning masks and requiring judicial warrants. “I don’t like some of the things they’re asking for,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “We’re going to protect law enforcement. We’re going to protect ICE. They’re part of a whole system that is working.”
Some Republicans also wonder whether Democrats are serious about reaching an agreement or are posturing for political gain ahead of November’s midterm elections.
What’s ahead: Details about the negotiations have been sparse, but Congress is out this week and, though Trump told reporters he’ll be sitting down with Democrats, there is little sign that a deal may be near. The president is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address next Tuesday. Some Republicans reportedly worry that his speech will be overshadowed by the ongoing DHS standoff. “It doesn’t exactly scream ‘a functioning GOP trifecta,’” one unnamed House Republican told Politico, referring to the party’s control over the House, Senate and White House. But Trump said Monday that he’s not concerned and would be fine making the speech if DHS funding hasn’t been resolved. "It wouldn't bother me," he said.
The bottom line: Congress has passed 11 of the 12 bills to fund federal operations for fiscal year 2026, so the DHS funding lapse is likely to be far less painful than last year’s record shutdown — and lawmakers may feel far less pressure to make a deal in the near term. Trump’s State of the Union and a scheduled DHS payday on February 27 may dial up that pressure.