DHS Partially Shuts Down, Setting Up Battle Over ICE Accountability in Coming Weeks

The US Department of Homeland Security partially shut down on Saturday at midnight after Congress failed to reach an agreement to reform its immigration agencies, which have faced mounting scrutiny after the killings of multiple US citizens and rampant civil rights violations.

A shutdown was virtually assured when lawmakers left town for a recess on Thursday without a deal that included Democrats' key demands to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Sixty votes are needed to pass any deal through the Senate, meaning seven Democrats would need to join every Republican to break the stalemate.

Democrats have demanded that agents around the nation wear body cameras, carry identification, and stop hiding their identities with masks. They said agents must adhere to the Constitution by obtaining judicial warrants before entering private property and ending the use of racial profiling.

Senate Republicans on Thursday attempted to pass another short-term funding measure that would keep the agency running while negotiations play out. But without adopting any of the Democrats' reforms, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said his party would "not support a blank check for chaos."

The bill was voted down 47-52, with only one Democrat, the ICE-defending Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voting in support.

The lapse in funding comes amid a whirlwind of scandals surrounding DHS, most notably the fatal shootings in Minneapolis of two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, last month. DHS officials, including Secretary Kristi Noem, immediately leapt to justify the killings in contradiction to video evidence, which smeared the victims as "domestic terrorists" before any investigation took place.

Earlier this week, unsealed body camera footage showed definitively that the agency also lied about the shooting of 30-year-old US citizen Marimar Martinez in Chicago in October.

On Friday, it was reported that two ICE agents are under investigation for making false statements about the events leading up to yet another shooting of a Venezuelan national, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in Minnesota last month.

In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing by his agency, ICE's acting director, Todd Lyons, said on Friday that the agents appear “to have made untruthful statements” about what led to his shooting.

An explosive Wall Street Journal report also recently put Noem further under the microscope, revealing an alleged romantic relationship with top Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, who insiders said has been put in charge of the agency's contracting despite being only a temporary "special government employee" and has reportedly doled out contracts in an "opaque and arbitrary manner."

The DHS shutdown will not affect funding for immigration agencies, since both ICE and CBP received more than $70 billion from Congress last summer as part of the GOP's massive tax and spending bill.

Their activities are expected to continue normally during the shutdown. But other functions of the agency may see delays and funding lapses.

While most Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are considered essential and expected to stay on the job, more may begin to stay home if the shutdown drags on and they miss paychecks. Some Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for states' disaster recovery may also be delayed as a result of the shutdown, and employees may be furloughed, slowing the process.

Congress is expected to reconvene on February 23 after a weeklong recess, but may return earlier if a deal is reached during the break.

Democrats have appeared largely united on holding out unless significant reforms are achieved, though party leaders—Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have faced a crisis of confidence within their own caucus, as they've appeared willing to taper back some demands—including masking requirements—in order to find a compromise.

As the clock inched toward midnight on Friday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, emphasized the existential stakes of the fight ahead.

"If the government shuts down, it will be because Republicans refuse to hold DHS and their deplorable actions accountable," she said. "The reality is if we start to erode the rights of some, we start to erode the rights of all—and I will not stand for it. We need massive reforms in DHS with real accountability before we send another dime their way."