The Department of Homeland Security is facing its one month shutdown

By Javohir Aminov, Asst. News Editor

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing a temporary shutdown, leading to unpaid labor for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This has led to staff shortages, flight delays and strained agency resources that caused vacations to be delayed. 

The shutdown began in February after a spending bill was blocked because of Democrats wanting a change in how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handles their operations. They plan to stop this shutdown, only after the White House funds all the sub-agencies under the DHS, except ICE and CBP.

However, they also offered an alternative solution where they should control ICE under proper regulations. It was only after ICE agents murdered U.S. citizens in Minnesota where Democrats demanded regulations to be strictly imposed on ICE, during their Operation Metro Surge. This was a large-scale action that targeted immigrants residing in Minneapolis, resulting in 4,000 arrests. Some arrests were illogical, however, since ICE detained numerous U.S. citizens and ended up killing two innocents, leading to a high rise in tension and controversy against ICE and how they conduct their operations, on social media and in the city of Minneapolis, where some people online called it a “federal invasion.”

After negotiations and rebuttals, the White House offered funds to increase the usage of body cameras from $20 million to $100 million according to the Washington Post. Furthermore, TSA missed their paycheck, leading to multiple agents calling out of work, 300 employees quitting and 100,000 currently working without pay.

Although the DHS got shut down, immigration enforcement efforts were still prominent due to the Republican funding them with their taxes and spending bill. Moreover, they received $170 billion for their entire agency, which includes $75 billion for ICE exclusively. The back and forth debates between the Democratic and Republican parties have shown little compromise where each party supports two opposing sides, leaving no room for delegation and extending the DHS interruption.