Travelers stand in a long line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday, March 23, 2026, the same day federal immigration authorities began assisting with airport security. (Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate approved funding for the expansive majority of the Department of Homeland Security early Friday and sent a bill to the House of Representatives that could end the shutdown that began in mid-February.
The vote, which took place around 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time, came after a week of increasing pressure on lawmakers to end the standoff that has resulted in lost wages for tens of thousands of workers and hours-long waits in airport security lines.
The shutdown began as Democrats called for up-to-date restrictions on immigration enforcement after federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
The Senate-passed bill no longer includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Protection, which are exempt from the effects of a shutdown since Republicans approved tens of billions for their operations in their “big, beautiful” bill. Republican lawmakers signaled before the vote that they would try to pass another raise in funding for immigration enforcement and deportation in a second partisan package later this year.
The deal allowed the Senate to begin its two-week spring recess, but it was not immediately clear whether Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would hold a vote on the bill before the chamber goes into recess.
President Donald Trump has not said publicly whether he would sign the bill if it lands on his desk. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump said on Thursday evening that he planned to sign an order That would allow Transportation Security Administration employees to receive pay that a senior administration official said would come from the tax and spending bill signed by Republicans.
Thune warns of election campaign problems
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during a brief debate that funding DHS through a “piecemeal” approach would not have been possible if Democrats had handled negotiations differently.
“They wanted Immigration and Customs Enforcement reform, and Republicans offered to give it to them,” he said. “The White House has made one offer after another, presenting a robust list of additional reforms. And the Democrats have kept shifting the targets, and today they simply walked away.”
Democrats, he said, “might think twice” before trying to exploit this as a campaign issue in November Midterm electionswhen voters across the country will decide whether Republicans retain both chambers of Congress.
“We could be standing here right now passing a funding bill with a list of reforms if Democrats had made even the slightest effort to actually reach an agreement, but they haven’t because it’s now clear to everyone that Democrats didn’t actually want a solution,” he said. “They wanted a problem, politics over politics, self-interest over reform, they wanted to pander to their base to actually solve a problem.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a deal to fund most of DHS “could have been done weeks ago if Republicans hadn’t stood in the way.”
“Democrats stood by our opposition that Donald Trump’s rogue and deadly militia should not receive more funding without serious reforms, and we will continue to fight for those reforms,” he said.
More money promised for immigration deportations
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt said he and other Republican lawmakers would seek to strengthen funding for immigration and deportations through budget balancing. the sophisticated process The party used it last year to pass its “big, beautiful” law.
This, he said, would allow Republicans to pass funding through the Senate with just a straightforward majority vote, skipping the procedural steps that would otherwise require 60 senators to end debate on a bill.
“For my Democratic colleagues, this bill is the moderate option. What comes next will accelerate deportations,” he said. “To my Republican colleagues: Let this be a rallying cry every time Democrats impede the safety of American families, the wall goes 10 feet higher, and ICE gets another $100 billion.”
New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said Democrats have made clear for months that they “would not support providing more funding to ICE without also including common-sense reforms to curb the abuses we have seen in Minnesota and elsewhere, particularly after two Americans were shot.”
“All we have asked for here is what the American people are demanding – body-worn cameras, no masks, keeping ICE agents out of our hospitals, schools and churches, and ensuring that ICE uses the same practices and procedures as local law enforcement,” he added.
“Republicans have given in”
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote in a statement that previous negotiations included “proposals to expand the use of body-worn cameras, limit civilian immigration enforcement in sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals, increase oversight of detention centers and implement visible identification of officers.”
“While Republicans tried in good faith to reach an agreement, Democrats remained adamant and unreasonable with their list of demands,” she wrote.
Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote in a statement that since “Republicans have caved,” lawmakers are “on track to fund the areas we agreed to, get TSA agents paid, get our airports back up and running, and fund critical disaster relief and cybersecurity work.”
“But it is a shame that Republicans abandoned constructive conversations and ultimately rejected some fundamental steps to reform these agencies instead of working with Democrats to enact several common-sense reforms to ICE and Border Patrol that the White House had already agreed to,” she wrote. “I will continue to fight for real, meaningful steps to rein in these rogue agencies – we just need Republicans to join us.”
