A partial government shutdown has hit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Here’s what that means

Community members react to U.S. federal immigration agents conducting enforcement tasks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 5. (Seth Herald/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.

DHS is the last federal agency lacking funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, which runs through September 30. Since the record-long shutdown ended in mid-November, lawmakers have passed a series of spending bills for the rest of the government.

The most recent package, approved at the end of January, only funded DHS for two weeks to give Congress more time to negotiate reforms in the agency’s immigration enforcement operations — a demand by Senate Democrats after federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.

But lawmakers left town last week without any agreement on how to fund DHS, and the next steps are uncertain. Talks between the White House and Democrats have been moving slowly, and the two chambers aren’t scheduled to return to Washington until February 23, though GOP leaders could still call members back if a deal is reached.

U.S. President Donald Trump is no stranger to government shutdowns. He also presided over one in his first term, which lasted 35 days and had been the longest on record until last year’s 43-day impasse.

Here’s what we know about a partial government shutdown affecting DHS:

What is the debate around funding DHS?

The shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by DHS immigration agents during protests in Minneapolis last month sparked widespread public outcry and prompted Senate Democrats to demand reforms in exchange for their support of a package to fund other federal departments.

The Democrats have said they want to restrict roving patrols, tighten parameters around warrants for searches and arrests, toughen use-of-force policies and require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to wear body cameras and remove their masks. Republicans have resisted nearly all of those changes, and some have pushed for concessions from Democrats, like cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities.

Will this shutdown affect air travel?

Typically, a major pain point during a shutdown is the snarling of flights due to staffing issues among air traffic controllers. That won’t be an issue in this case, because controllers are part of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration, which has already received funding for the rest of the fiscal year.

However, depending on the length of the shutdown, Americans may notice longer lines at airport security checkpoints since Transportation Security Administration workers, who fall under DHS, would have to work without pay. This has happened during prior impasses as employee absences increase as shutdowns drag on.

About 61,000 TSA employees must remain on the job at the nation’s more than 430 commercial airports during a shutdown. Many live paycheck to paycheck, Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official performing the duties of TSA administrator, said in written testimony for a House subcommittee hearing before the funding lapsed.

“During a shutdown, the ability to pay for rent, bills, groceries, childcare, and gas just to get to work becomes very challenging, leading to increased unscheduled absences (call outs) as a shutdown progresses,” she said. “Higher call outs can result in longer wait times at checkpoints, leading to missed or delayed flights, which has a cascading negative impact on the American economy.”

TSA workers will only receive a partial paycheck on February 28 if the impasse isn’t resolved by then. They will miss their first full paycheck on March 14.

The shutdown is weighing on staffers, who had to deal with the record-long lapse only a few months ago.

“People are tired of the uncertainty,” said Johnny Jones, secretary/treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100. “It causes so much disruption.”

What does the shutdown mean for ICE and CBP?

Democrats do not have much power to actually restrict ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection activities in this shutdown. ICE will still continue to operate its main functions, multiple congressional aides have contended.

Overall, more than 90% of DHS’ 272,000 employees will continue working during a lapse, according to the agency’s September shutdown plan covering the first five days of an impasse. More than 93% of ICE and CBP workers will remain on the job.

Only about 44,500 staffers will continue to be paid through other appropriations, according to the shutdown plan. However, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said last fall that 70,000 law enforcement personnel, including in CBP, ICE and other divisions, would receive their paychecks.

DHS has other resources to draw on, including a US$165 billion infusion from last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which funneled $75 billion to ICE, alone, and $64 billion to CBP.

The president’s signature policy bill gives Noem wide-ranging power to move money around to carry out the agency’s operations.

DHS did not return a request for comment on whether the agency’s law enforcement personnel would be paid during this shutdown.

But DHS did note in a statement on Tuesday that ICE and CBP could face delays in procurements, supplies and other support during the impasse.

How will the lapse in funding affect other agencies under DHS?

DHS is a sprawling agency that includes not only ICE, CBP and TSA, but also the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard, Secret Service and other divisions.

Much of the agency’s workforce is focused on activities that protect life and property and is therefore considered essential. Activities that will continue include law enforcement operations, including those related to immigration and drug trafficking; passenger processing and cargo inspections at ports of entry; Disaster Relief Fund activities; and Secret Service functions.

“Because we know that the majority of staff right now would be required to work, it’s likely that the impacts would be minimally felt,” said Rachel Snyderman, managing director of the economic policy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “But as the duration of the shutdown continues, that’s where you start to see some issues with staff attrition.”

FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund also appears to be well-funded, though monthly reports are still lagging because of the fall shutdown, according to the center. It estimates that the fund contained nearly $31 billion at the start of the year, and the agency typically spends $500 million to $1 billion a month — barring a major disaster.

DHS outlined some of the impacts on its other functions in Tuesday’s statement. For instance, Coast Guard military families could have issues with housing and utilities since vendors won’t be paid for utilities, leases and base contracts. FEMA will be unable to process payments for non-disaster grants and certain disaster grants.

Will the IRS or other government agencies be affected?

All other areas of the federal government, including national parks and the Internal Revenue Service, will remain open since they have been funded for the rest of the fiscal year.

This story has been updated with additional information.

By Tami Luhby, CNN