Senate Democrats are threatening to block a consolidated appropriations package that includes the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, raising the risk of another government shutdown as early as Friday amid heated debates over immigration enforcement and recent high-profile deaths linked to noncitizens.
The standoff centers on H.R. 7147, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026, which provides about $64.4 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard, Cybersecurity, ongoing FEMA assistance to those impacted by disasters, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
However, Senate Democrats are threatening a shutdown over roughly $10 billion for Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill, passed by the House on Jan. 22 in a 220-207 vote, is bundled with other appropriations in a broader consolidated spending package (H.R. 7148) that covers national defense, Pentagon funding, health and human services, education, transportation, and labor.
While ICE has already been funded by last year’s Big Beautiful Bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other Democrats have vowed to withhold votes for any measure, including DHS funding, unless significant reforms are made to the agency.
The push intensified after the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who took part in obstructing federal agents during an operation in Minneapolis—the second such incident in the city this month. While calling the shootings “appalling,” the Democrats have thus far remained silent on the deaths of two North Carolina college students killed by an illegal immigrant last week.
On Jan. 16 in Rowan County, N.C., Juan Alvarado-Aguilar, a 37-year-old Mexican national illegally in the U.S., was driving under the influence when he crossed the center line and struck a Honda Accord, killing 20-year-old Fletcher Harris and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Skylar Provenza. Harris, a Catawba College soccer player majoring in biology and environmental studies, and Provenza, a recent esthetics graduate preparing to start work at a salon, died at the scene.
ICE lodged a detainer on Alvarado-Aguilar the next day, and he faces charges including two counts of felony death by vehicle and driving while impaired. Officials noted his prior DWI charge and criticized local policies for not turning him over earlier.
Secretary Noem called the deaths preventable, urging stronger enforcement and cooperation from local jurisdictions.
“Fletcher and Skylar had their whole lives ahead of them. They would still be with us today if not for Juan Alvarado-Aguilar, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who chose to recklessly drive drunk on our roads,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “Under President Trump, dangerous foreign criminals with no right to be in the U.S. are being arrested and removed daily. ICE has lodged an arrest detainer with the Rowan County Jail to ensure this criminal is not allowed back into our communities and is removed from the U.S. once and for all.”
The funding deadline looms under a continuing resolution, yet one insider reveals the unlikelihood of carving out DHS funding from the appropriations package to meet the demands of Senate Democrats.
“Republicans will never cave and exclude DHS from the minibus,” a senior GOP aide with knowledge of the negotiations told Deported.news. “Doing so would require us to renegotiate the entire package we spent months building and force the House back into session during a snow emergency just to re-vote on a stopgap. The House did its job. Now it’s up to the Senate to act.”
Negotiations remain ongoing as Congress works to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of the January 30, 2026, funding deadline, while much of the Washington, D.C., region grapples with a major snowstorm that has disrupted operations and closed federal offices.
Officials note that, due to previously appropriated funds, ICE operations would continue uninterrupted even in the event of a shutdown, and regardless of the DHS budget passing.
However, other critical programs would be affected if the DHS budget is held up. Programs, such as FEMA and housing assistance programs administered by HUD, could face delays or limitations if no agreement is reached—potentially complicating timely aid delivery amid ongoing recovery needs and winter weather challenges.
