Senate Approves Funding for Homeland Security Amid Travel Chaos, Excluding ICE

Fri Mar 27 2026 14:17:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

In a bid to end airport disruptions caused by a partial government shutdown, the US Senate has unanimously voted to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, while leaving out immigration enforcement operations through ICE.

The US Senate has passed funding for the Department of Homeland Security to resolve a nearly six-week disruption affecting airports. Despite the unanimous agreement, immigration enforcement concerning ICE has been excluded due to ongoing debates over agency reforms. The House of Representatives will now review the funding measures, which aim to restore functionality to airport security operations heavily impacted by the shutdown.

The US Senate has voted to end a partial 40-day government shutdown, approving funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - with the exception of immigration enforcement.

The almost six-week funding lapse has seen knock-on disruption at US airports. Security workers' salaries are paid by the DHS, and hundreds have quit since the shutdown began.

Democrats had refused to agree to a funding deal without reforms to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, but the Senate reached unanimous agreement in the early hours of Friday after stripping ICE and parts of border protection out of the measure.

The funding measures now face a vote in the House of Representatives.

It is hoped that the package can bring an end to widespread disruption at airports across the US, where travelers have faced hours-long queues due to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at security checkpoints.

Around 50,000 agents at the TSA - which sits under the DHS - have been working without pay since mid-February due to the shutdown. This has reduced the number turning up to work each day and led to hundreds quitting.

A BBC reporter at Houston airport on Thursday night reported that after waiting about two hours in a winding queue across one floor, frazzled travelers went up an escalator thinking they had reached the end - only to find another long line stretching towards security.

The airport is currently operating just one-third to 50% of its TSA checkpoints, said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System.

A few hours before the Senate vote, US President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social that he would sign an executive order 'to immediately pay out TSA Agents.'

Senate Majority Leader John Thune addressed the chamber after the vote, stating, 'President Trump should never have had to step in to rescue TSA workers and US air travel.' He criticized the Democrats' refusal to reach an agreement, leading to piecemeal funding.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer clarified that the package included funding for the TSA, US Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following controversial incidents involving ICE agents in Minneapolis, Democrats have insisted that any deal on DHS funding must include measures to reform ICE operations, rejecting any blank check for the agency.

The funding package now needs to pass a vote in the US House of Representatives.