Senate Democrats are increasingly calling for an end to the DHS shutdown, yet repeated votes against funding have left the Senate deadlocked over immigration enforcement.
The standoff has placed the Department of Homeland Security at the center of a growing political battle. Democrats say they want agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency funded, while demanding changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
At the same time, Republicans argue Democrats cannot claim they want to reopen DHS while repeatedly voting against funding proposals.
Democrats Face Pressure Over DHS Funding Votes
The divide became particularly visible after an antisemitic attack on the Temple Israel synagogue in Michigan.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said that “certainly” Congress must fund DHS.
However, Slotkin and most Senate Democrats have voted four times against DHS funding, including proposals designed to temporarily reopen the department while broader negotiations continue.
Republicans have seized on those votes, accusing Democrats of trying to shift responsibility for the shutdown while maintaining demands for immigration enforcement reforms.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said Democrats were attempting to redirect public anger over the impasse.
“Well, that’s what they do, right? And they’re good at it. They’re really good at it,” he told.
“And the big difference is they have 90% of the legacy media backing them up.”
“So it’s hard, but again, four times this afternoon, the Democrats voted against funding DHS,” he continued.
Schumer Accuses Republicans Of Holding Workers Hostage
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has taken a different approach, arguing that Republicans are using federal employees as leverage in the funding dispute.
Schumer accused Republicans of using workers at DHS agencies, including TSA and FEMA, as “hostages.”
“I remind my Republican colleagues, we’re going to be back here again and again, winning this debate and eventually winning the American people,” Schumer said.
Meanwhile, Democrats have begun signaling greater willingness to fund portions of DHS that do not directly involve immigration enforcement.
Slotkin said Democrats should separate the broader department funding debate from the dispute surrounding ICE.
“We need, in my view, to cut away all the conversation on ICE, which is its own conversation,” Slotkin said at the news conference.
Warner Signals Support For Broader DHS Funding
The political pressure has grown as the country faces heightened security concerns and recent terror-related incidents.
An alleged ISIS-inspired bomb plot in New York City and a deadly shooting involving a convicted Islamic State supporter at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, added urgency to the debate last week.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also said he supports funding DHS, despite voting against the department’s full-year appropriations bill Thursday.
“I think we should,” Warner replied when asked if Democrats should break the deadlock by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on Sunday.
“What we have offered is let’s pay TSA, let’s pay FEMA, let’s pay … the Coast Guard, let’s pay CISA. I’d even say let’s pay Customs and Border Patrol,” Warner said. “If we can’t agree on ICE reforms, let’s pay everybody else.”
Still, it remains uncertain whether enough Senate Democrats would support funding Customs and Border Protection while negotiations over ICE reforms continue.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has so far stood apart from his Democratic colleagues by supporting a full-year DHS appropriations bill.
Democrats Demand Immigration Enforcement Reforms
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Democrats want funding for key DHS agencies but will not approve unrestricted funding for immigration enforcement.
“Democrats’ position is simple: we want reforms to rein in ICE and Border Patrol,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on the Senate floor Thursday. “We also want TSA and FEMA funded — but we are not going to be blackmailed into cutting a blank check for ICE to get it done.”
Republicans, however, have rejected Democratic proposals that would fund DHS agencies while excluding components responsible for immigration enforcement.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., recently blocked an effort by Murray to fund the department’s non-immigration operations.
Shutdown Talks Remain Stalled
The disagreement comes as negotiations between the White House and Democrats have stalled, leaving little indication that a broader compromise is close.
Republicans have argued that partially reopening DHS would undermine the push to secure funding for immigration enforcement agencies.
Britt said lawmakers need to stop trading accusations and begin negotiating directly.
“Members need to get in a room, have tough conversations, and figure out a pathway for the American people,” Britt told. “Their safety and security should matter more than politics in November, and unfortunately, Democrats continue to try to take hostages.”
For now, the dispute remains centered on a basic question: Can Congress reopen most of DHS while Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over ICE?
Democrats say they are willing to fund much of the department, but insist immigration enforcement reforms must accompany any agreement. Republicans counter that DHS cannot fully operate while key portions remain unfunded.
Until those positions converge, the shutdown fight is likely to continue putting national security, airport operations and immigration policy under the same political microscope.
