The US Department of Homeland Security has been led to new fiscal paralysis, after the failure of Democrats and Republicans to reach an agreement on immigration police (ICE) against the backdrop of the outcry over the events in Minneapolis.
"Donald Trump and the Republicans have decided that they have no interest in keeping ICE under control," House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries said yesterday to explain this partial shutdown.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt, on the other hand, blasted the opposition, stressing on Fox News that behind the impasse are "political and partisan reasons", a few hours before the paralysis of the ministry, at midnight (07:00 Cyprus time).
In the coming days, as a result, thousands of federal civil servants will be put on technical unemployment, while thousands of others, whose duties it is absolutely necessary to perform, will be called upon to work unpaid. In any case, their salaries will not be paid until after Congress approves a budget for the ministry.
However, while Democrats say they are denying any new funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because of ICE's actions, the latter is expected to continue to operate during the department's paralysis, thanks to funds approved in 2025 by Congress.
'Zero impact' on ICE
One of the few voices in the ranks of Democrats opposing the shutdown, Senator John Fetterman, said the department's paralysis would have "literally zero impact" on immigration police.
It is other DHS agencies that will suffer the greatest consequences of this paralysis, in particular FEMA, which is responsible for disaster response.
While the TSA, the agency responsible for airport security controls, warned via X that any prolonged shutdown would cause staff shortages with "notable consequences at airports, in particular delays, longer wait times and flight cancellations".
To approve a new DHS budget, Democrats are demanding profound changes in the way ICE operates across the country.
In particular, they want to end its air patrols, ban its agents from covering their faces and make it mandatory to have court warrants in hand before making arrests.
Their opposition to the practices of the DHS-reported agency intensified after the deaths in January with Renee Goode and Alex Prety, two Americans killed by federal police bullets in Minneapolis, a few weeks apart.
Hakim Jeffries insisted yesterday that "taxpayer dollars should be used to reduce the high cost of living for Americans and make medical care more affordable," not to fund "untrained and masked agents" who "treat them brutally" or kill them, adding "enough."
"Serious negotiations"
Given the current US Senate regulation, 60 out of 100 votes are required for the adoption of any budget text, and the Republicans, although they have the majority, need the support of at least a portion of the opposition to adopt any DHS budget proposal.
The White House said it was ready to negotiate with the Democrats and sent them a counter-proposal on Wednesday night.
"The White House is (...) committed to talks and serious negotiations with the Democrats," his spokeswoman Levitt assured yesterday.
However, the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, John Thune, warned the opposition on Thursday that it would not ensure the satisfaction of "all" of its demands.
Democrats have flatly rejected the government's counter-proposal, and the failure of the talks means DHS is back into a state of paralysis at midnight.
It will be the third shutdown since President Trump's second term began after the one of a few days in early February, and in that case on the occasion of ICE, and that October-November 2025 period, which broke the counters, as it lasted a record 43 days.
