WASHINGTON – Amid partisan gridlock over federal immigration enforcement, the Senate on Feb. 12 failed to advance a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, virtually guaranteeing a shutdown of the agency that oversees critical services, such as airport security and disaster relief, that Americans rely on.
The impasse marked an escalation of Democrats' negotiating tactics with congressional Republicans and White House officials, who've been in sensitive talks over reforming the 9/11-era Cabinet agency since the killing of a second Minnesotan, 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti, by federal agents in January.
Lapsed funding for the agency will impact the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other divisions where services will be reduced and many workers will stay on the job without pay.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which Congress gave a surplus of funding last year, will continue operating.
The nationwide backlash to Pretti's fatal shooting at the hands of Border Patrol officers has fiercely united Democrats on Capitol Hill over the past month. Concern over the incident immediately threw a wrench in the bipartisan appropriations process, setting the stage for yet another high-stakes funding showdown that could soon jeopardize government programs, disrupt travel and leave thousands temporarily without paychecks.
