Immigration Fight Triggers Third Schumer Shutdown in Six Months [WATCH]

The third government shutdown in under half a year began just after midnight Saturday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement over funding for the Department of Homeland Security amid disputes tied to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.

Congress has completed roughly 97% of its annual government spending work, but lawmakers did not finalize a deal for DHS before the funding deadline.

Democrats walked away last month from an initial bipartisan proposal on DHS funding, leaving that department as the only area of government without federal funding as of midnight.

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DHS is the third-largest Cabinet agency, employing nearly 272,000 people. According to the department’s September 2025 government shutdown plan, about 90% of DHS workers will remain on the job during the funding lapse, many without pay.

The agency was created in 2003 following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. It oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service, among other components.

During the shutdown, approximately 64,000 TSA agents and 56,000 active-duty, reserve, and civilian Coast Guard personnel are among those working without pay.

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Those employees and others are expected to receive back pay once the shutdown ends.

Negotiations continued through the week, and the Trump White House sent a potential compromise offer on Wednesday night.

As of Friday afternoon, however, there was no indication that the two parties had moved closer to an agreement.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., addressed the impasse during a press conference.

“It’s our expectation that we will respond to the unserious offer that Republicans have made that clearly omits things that need to happen,” Jeffries said.

“There are a variety of different areas where clearly the administration has fallen short of doing things that make things better for the American people. Until that happens, unfortunately, it appears that Donald Trump and the Republicans have decided to shut down other parts of the Department of Homeland Security.”

Democrats ended bipartisan negotiations over DHS funding last month after federal law enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations. Since then, Democrats have called for reforms aimed at ICE and CBP.

Among the proposals Democrats are seeking are a ban on ICE agents wearing masks and a requirement that agents obtain judicial warrants before pursuing suspected illegal immigrants. Republicans in Congress have long described those measures as non-starters.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats have maintained that the Republican proposal does not go far enough.

Both sides have exchanged legislative text and proposals in an effort to reach a compromise funding measure.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Democrats believe their requests are limited in scope.

“Again, the only — the fundamental ask is that ICE abide by the same principles and policies of every other police force in the country, and if we can get there, then we can resolve the problem,” King said.

Most House and Senate lawmakers departed Washington on Thursday and are not expected to return until Feb. 23.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said lawmakers would receive 24 hours’ notice to come back to Washington if there is progress in negotiations.

“Every iteration of this gets a step closer, because I think the White House is giving more and more ground on some of these key issues,” Thune said.

“But so far, they’re not getting any kind of response to Democrats, even allowing us to continue this, allowing [the] government to stay open.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., authorized House members to leave Washington with 48 hours’ notice to return pending Senate action, according to two sources who spoke to Fox News Digital.

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