DHS Funding Lapse Looms as Immigration Fight Paralyzes Talks

Lead

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to lapse early Saturday morning, according to reporting on Feb. 13, 2026, unless negotiators reach a last-minute settlement. The impasse stems from a fierce congressional standoff over the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement—heightened after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month. Democrats are withholding funding unless Congress enacts limits requiring officers to identify themselves, remove masks and obtain judicial warrants for arrests on private property; Republicans call those conditions too restrictive. While a lapse would not immediately stop many core enforcement operations, it would disrupt multiple DHS components, from disaster response to long-term cybersecurity work.

Key Takeaways

• Funding for the Department of Homeland Security was poised to expire early Saturday morning (reporting dated Feb. 13, 2026), driven by a dispute over immigration enforcement tactics.
• Immigration agencies at the center of the fight—ICE (about 22,000 officers) and Customs and Border Protection (more than 60,000 officers)—are likely to continue many operations because their work is deemed essential.
• The Transportation Security Administration employs roughly 60,000 people; about 95% were required to work through the prior shutdown and would likely be required again.
• FEMA expects nearly 85% of its workforce to remain on duty during a lapse, but its disaster relief fund could be strained if a major catastrophe occurs while funding is interrupted.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (around 22,000 employees) is largely fee-funded and would maintain most services, though some appropriated programs such as E-Verify could be at risk.
• CISA has 2,341 staff with 888 identified as essential during a lapse, meaning many cybersecurity planning and guidance activities could be delayed.
• The Secret Service — more than 8,000 staff — would continue protection missions with roughly 94% on duty, but hiring and training would be disrupted and morale may suffer.
• The Coast Guard operates under military-style rules: uniformed personnel must report even without pay, but training and maintenance would be curtailed in a prolonged lapse.

Background

The current stalemate has its roots in a partisan clash over enforcement tactics the Trump administration has directed at cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. Tensions rose further after federal operations in Minneapolis last month in which two U.S. citizens were shot and killed by federal agents, prompting Democratic demands to condition funding on procedural safeguards for operations in local communities. Democrats are pressing Congress to require agents to identify themselves, take masks off, and secure judicial warrants before making arrests on private property.

Republicans and the administration have rejected those measures as overly burdensome, arguing they would hinder law enforcement and border-security operations. The disagreement has stalled an appropriations package for the Department of Homeland Security, and negotiators have shown little sign of bridging the gap as the deadline approaches. Policymaking now sits between urgent operational continuity and politically charged demands about civil liberties and law enforcement accountability.

Main Event

Negotiations faltered as leaders from both parties clung to entrenched positions. Democrats linked DHS funding to new operational rules, while Republicans and administration officials emphasized maintaining robust immigration enforcement and border security without additional constraints. With the clock counting down to an early Saturday lapse, leaders had not signaled a breakthrough, leaving agency managers to prepare for interim contingency operations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection are likely to continue many field operations because their roles are classified as essential to public safety. ICE benefits from a recent infusion of resources: Congress expanded its operating budget last summer as part of a broad domestic policy bill, adding roughly $75 billion in resources that provide a buffer. That funding cushion could allow ICE to maintain operations for some period even if appropriations lapse.

The Transportation Security Administration faces operational strain because of its reliance on large numbers of frontline screeners. About 95% of TSA’s roughly 60,000 employees were required to work during the record-long shutdown last fall, and the agency experienced heightened resignations and screening delays at major airports as the lapse continued. Agency leaders said they are attempting to hire ahead of major travel events, but staffing volatility remains a risk.

FEMA officials said nearly 85% of the agency would remain on duty in a lapse, and its disaster relief fund currently covers ongoing responses. However, FEMA leaders warned to Congress that a major disaster during a lapse would place severe pressure on reimbursements to states and on recovery timelines. The Coast Guard, which functions like the military in shutdowns, would keep uniformed personnel working but forego scheduled training and maintenance that support long-term readiness.

CISA would furlough the majority of its roughly 2,341 employees, keeping about 888 on duty to sustain operations that protect life and property while delaying strategic planning and guidance development. The Secret Service confirmed roughly 94% of its more than 8,000 staff would continue protective missions; leaders cautioned that hiring, training and morale would suffer under prolonged unpaid work. USCIS, funded mainly by application fees, would continue most immigration-benefit processing but could suspend some programs that rely on appropriated funds.

Analysis & Implications

Operational continuity for many DHS functions is driven by legal classifications of essential work, not by the presence of appropriations. That means life‑safety missions—border patrol, protective services, airport screening and disaster response—can continue in the short term, frequently with employees required to work without immediate pay. The short-term effect preserves core public-safety functions, but it shifts costs and consequences onto frontline workers and local partners.

Financial buffers and fee-funded programs create uneven exposure across DHS components. ICE’s expanded budget from last summer provides a temporary cushion; USCIS’s fee model allows most benefit processing to continue. By contrast, agencies that rely on annual appropriations for planning, training, maintenance and grant reimbursements—CISA, FEMA grants management and parts of the Coast Guard—face more acute operational erosion if a lapse is prolonged.

Beyond immediate logistics, the dispute signals a larger political trade-off: Democrats are using appropriation leverage to seek operational reforms and accountability after high-profile enforcement incidents, while Republicans and the administration prioritize unfettered enforcement authority. If Democrats secure language requiring identification, mask removal and warrants, it could reshape federal-local operational norms. If they fail, the administration may continue with existing tactical approaches, deepening local-state tensions.

Economically and socially, the costs of intermittent shutdowns compound. Worker morale and retention suffer after repeated unpaid work; airport delays and reduced disaster-recovery speed have knock-on effects for commerce and public confidence. Policymakers must weigh these diffuse costs against the political gains of maintaining firm negotiating stances.

Comparison & Data

The table summarizes staff scales and near-term functional risks during a funding lapse. While many front-line duties continue, mission support, training and longer-term readiness are the most likely casualties.

Reactions & Quotes

“D.H.S. essential missions and functions will continue as they do during every shutdown.”

DHS statement

The department emphasized continued operations but acknowledged the burden on employees forced to work without pay.

“The fund would be seriously strained”

Gregg Phillips, FEMA Office of Response and Recovery (to lawmakers)

FEMA officials warned Congress that while current response needs are covered, a catastrophic event during a lapse would pressure reimbursement and recovery timelines.

“Fading morale as bills come due.”

Matthew C. Quinn, Deputy Director, U.S. Secret Service

Secret Service leadership highlighted the human toll of unpaid work even as protection missions continue.

Unconfirmed

• Whether DHS leadership or the administration will announce ad hoc bonuses similar to those given after the previous shutdown has not been confirmed.
• Exact duration ICE and CBP could sustain full operations using budgetary cushions without fresh appropriations is not publicly confirmed.
• The precise timeline on how quickly FEMA reimbursements to states would be delayed in the event of a large-scale disaster during a lapse remains uncertain.

Bottom Line

The immediate practical effect of a DHS funding lapse is likely to be uneven: frontline safety and protection services will largely continue in the short term, while training, planning, maintenance and grant reimbursements will be curtailed. That unevenness preserves public-safety functions but transfers short-term pain to workers, state and local partners, and deferred maintenance schedules that erode long-term readiness.

Politically, the standoff illustrates how appropriations can be used to press operational reforms after controversial enforcement actions. Unless negotiators find common ground quickly, the prospect of intermittent operational strain and slower disaster recovery is likely to persist — with consequences for travel, border operations and local communities hosting federal actions.

Sources

• The New York Times — live reporting on Feb. 13, 2026 (news reporting)