Negotiations over ICE stall, raising the odds that the government will once again shut down some services on Saturday
The U.S. government could be partially shutting down on Saturday if lawmakers in Washington are unable to strike a last-minute deal over immigration agents. If so, that will be the third time in five months the government has been forced to cease operations.
The shutdown would impact parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard. Altogether, roughly 13% of the federal civilian workforce would be impacted.
Not impacted, however, would be the agencies at the heart of the dispute between Democrats and Republicans: ICE. (That group and U.S. Customs and Border Protection received billions in additional funding last year.)
Democrats are demanding substantial changes to DHS following the killing of Minnesota resident Alex Pretti last month by ICE agents. Among those are a ban on wearing face masks. While some Republicans remain hopeful a compromise can be reached, Democrats say they plan to stand firm.
“If they don’t add things that will rein in ICE, they are not getting our votes,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Wednesday.
Any deal would also have to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
It has been less than 10 days since the last partial shutdown. On Jan. 31, roughly half of government departments shut down when appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year failed to pass. That ended on Feb. 3 when the House gave its approval to a Senate bill that passed before the deadline.
Prior to that, the government was closed for 43 days last October and November as the two sides of the aisle battled over the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
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