US Homeland Security Shutdown Amid Calls to Rein In Masked Immigration Agents
February 17, 2026
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ran out of funding this weekend. This led to the third partial government shutdown in President Donald Trump’s second term. Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans are stuck as Congress stays on break until February 23. Democrats want changes in DHS immigration enforcement after two deadly shootings in Minneapolis. Federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol shot Alex Pretti and Renee Good last month. Minnesota state officials said the FBI refused to share evidence with local police after Pretti's killing, calling it "concerning and unprecedented." The DHS shutdown started Saturday but essential services will continue. Agencies affected include TSA, FEMA, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, and the US Coast Guard. At airports, 2,933 TSA employees are furloughed without pay, while the rest work unpaid. Earlier, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent Republicans a list of 10 demands. These include banning immigration agents from wearing masks and requiring visible ID and clear uniforms. Democrats want to stop DHS officers from entering private property without judicial warrants and confirm citizenship before detention. They also want to ban immigration actions near courts, medical facilities, places of worship, schools, and polling sites. Coordination with state and local law enforcement is another demand after the federal government blocked their access in the Minneapolis cases. Jeffries said, "Federal immigration agents cannot continue to cause chaos in our cities while using taxpayer money that should be used to make life more affordable for working families." He urged lawmakers to pass "common sense reforms and accountability measures." Trump's border chief Tom Homan called the Democrats' requests "unreasonable" on CBS’s Face the Nation. Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin called it "political theatre" on CNN's State of the Union.
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Tags:
Dhs Shutdown
Immigration enforcement
Ice
Minnesota Shootings
Government funding
Congress
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