The U.S. Senate early Friday approved a bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), except for the immigration agency, after six weeks of tense negotiations and awaiting a vote in Congress for final approval. After 2:30 a.m., senators passed the bill to fund DHS by voice vote. However, the bill does not include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
When did the DHS shutdown begin? The DHS has been closed since February 14 due to Democrats' refusal to fund ICE, the agency responsible for enforcing U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy, after the deaths of two American citizens from shots fired by federal agents during protests against immigration raids in Minneapolis. Democrats demanded conditions for supporting the budget, including judicial orders for detentions or home searches, as well as a ban on agents using masks that hinder their identification and the obligation to wear body cameras.
The agency's closure began to cause problems at some U.S. airports due to a lack of security personnel. In response, Trump announced he would sign an executive order to ensure immediate pay for airport agents. Hours later, senators approved the bill after removing the immigration provisions that caused the conflict.
“Senate Democrats were clear: no blank check for an ICE and Border Patrol that act outside the law,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat and minority leader, after the measure's approval. The final approval of the bill now depends on Congress, which plans to vote this same Friday.
U.S. Airports ‘Go Wild’ Due to Lack of Security Staff In recent weeks, operations at U.S. airports have been complicated due to a lack of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel. To try to solve the situation, Trump ordered the deployment of ICE agents, but a lack of technical training caused wait times to remain the same. Last Wednesday, March 25, wait times at New York's three airports exceeded half an hour, although the longest delays were at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (Texas), where wait times exceeded two hours.
