House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries plans to release a discharge petition this week in an effort to force a vote on a bill that would fund much of the Department of Homeland Security while leaving immigration enforcement agencies unfunded.
Now in its second month, the DHS shutdown is starting to affect travelers throughout the country as they encounter airport disruptions caused by a shortage of security agents, thousands of whom missed their first paychecks last week.
House Democrats want to fund most of DHS — including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard — while leaving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection unfunded as they press for major reforms at those agencies in response to deadly violence during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for more than 30 days because Donald Trump and Republican extremists refuse to get ICE under control,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to fellow Democrats. “Meanwhile, hardworking employees of the TSA, CISA, Coast Guard and FEMA have been forced to work without pay.”
A discharge petition forces legislation onto the floor for a vote once a majority of the House signs it. Democrats would need to find support from a handful of Republicans to get to the 218 votes they need to move forward.
The House passed a comprehensive funding bill for DHS earlier this month with mostly Republican support, but Democrats in the Senate have rejected it as they call for major reforms at the nation’s immigration agencies.