U.S. Department of Homeland Security enters another shutdown as budget deal collapses amid immigration policy rift

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to pass a funding measure.

According to CNN on the 13th (local time), Congress missed the deadline to pass the budget by midnight and failed to secure funding for DHS. As a result, DHS is now the only federal agency without funding for the current fiscal year (ending Sept. 30).

The shutdown will leave a significant number of DHS employees unable to receive pay on time, though essential functions such as border patrol and airport security will continue. Local media projected that “most employees are expected to keep working, so changes felt by the general public will not be significant.”

At the heart of the standoff is a hardline confrontation between Democrats and the White House over immigration policy. After an incident in Minneapolis in January in which federal immigration enforcement officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Senate Democrats made reforms to DHS immigration enforcement operations a precondition for passing the budget.

Earlier, in late January, Congress passed a two-week stopgap funding bill to buy time for negotiations, but ultimately failed to reach a final compromise.

Lawmakers left Washington last Thursday without an agreement. The House and Senate are in recess until the 23rd, but Republican leaders said they could call members back early if negotiations between the White House and Democrats are concluded.

For President Donald Trump, a shutdown is nothing new. During his first term, Trump endured a 35-day shutdown, and last year oversaw a 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest on record.