The longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history ended Thursday after the House of Representatives passed a funding bill for most agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, just days away before Transportation Security Administration workers go without pay, threatening to plunge airports into chaos again.
The Senate unanimously passed the funding package weeks ago. President Donald Trump quickly signed the bill into law.
The bill has been at the center of controversy in an election year over Trump's policies to ramp up immigration enforcement, with Democrats demanding major changes in enforcement in exchange for supporting the funding bill. Republicans refused, causing the shutdown to continue.
Ultimately, bipartisan agreement was reached on a measure that would fund all Department of Homeland Security agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. Republicans plan to pass a party-led bill in the future to address increased immigration enforcement.
In the early days of the shutdown, Transportation Security Administration employees called in sick to protest not being paid, prompting Trump in late March to order the use of other funds to pay airport security personnel.
The White House warned Congress in a memo this week that those funds are quickly depleting and that TSA screeners and other staff will not receive pay in May if Congress does not act. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, whose activities have been funded by Trump's 2025 tax and spending law, have never faced unpaid work.
With the threat of further chaos at airports looming, Republicans this week overcame internal divisions to advance a plan to use the partisan budget process to allocate an additional $70 billion for immigration raids over the remainder of Trump's term. Trump has urged lawmakers to advance the measure quickly and avoid a broader policy debate over tax and spending cuts.
Spurred by the killings of two U.S. citizens by Department of Homeland Security agents in Minnesota, Democrats are demanding restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's enforcement activities, including a ban on face coverings and the requirement to obtain a judicial warrant before entering private homes.
Even as the government shutdown continues for months, the Trump administration has yet to agree to any changes in Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement strategies demanded by Democrats.