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DHS Shutdown Enters Sixth Week as Senate Talks Fail and Airport Lines Worsen

Talks remain stalled over Democratic demands to curb ICE operations.

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A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent looks on passengers queue to go through security at New York's LaGuardia airport on March 22, 2026. Immigration agents will be deployed in US airports beginning March 23, aiming to alleviate soaring congestion at security screenings amid a weeks-long budget standoff over President Donald Trump's mass deportation drive, officials said. Trump announced the extraordinary move in a social media post Sunday morning, sending officials racing to quickly develop a plan. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
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Travelers wait in a TSA line, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at LaGuardia Airport in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Overview

  • A procedural Senate vote to advance a Republican package that funds most of Homeland Security without ICE enforcement failed 54-46.
  • Acting TSA chief Ha Nguyen McNeill warned Congress that some smaller airports may close as more than 480 officers have quit and absences hover near 11%, with localized spikes above 40%.
  • ICE agents are now assisting at more than a dozen airports with crowd control and exit lanes, yet airport data show little relief in security wait times.
  • President Donald Trump praised ICE’s deployment and said he may call up the National Guard, while TSA leaders described unpaid workers selling plasma or sleeping in cars to get to shifts.
  • Democrats are pressing for guardrails on ICE—clear IDs, body cameras and stronger warrant rules—while Republicans offer to fund roughly 94% of DHS without ICE enforcement, and ICE remains paid under last year’s multi‑year law.