‘Moral failure’: Pressure mounts as Congress prepares to leave town despite urgent DHS stalemate

The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for over a month, and Congress has made no progress toward reopening it.

Democrats partially shut down DHS on February 14 by refusing to pass the appropriations bill in protest of the deaths of anti-ICE agitators Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Although Democrats took aim at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE is already funded through President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed last summer.

‘They have barely been in the same building.’

Instead of crippling our country’s immigration-focused agencies, Democrats are withholding funds from TSA and FEMA, sparking delays and frustration across the country.

Even still, Congress — which will break for a district work week from March 30 until April 10 — has shown no urgency to address the issue.

RELATED: White House offers concessions to end DHS shutdown — but Dems still choose illegal aliens over unpaid American TSA agents

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“The House and the Senate have had weeks to fix this, and they have barely been in the same building,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said in a statement obtained by Blaze News. “Members of Congress have walked past our TSA members at airport security checkpoints more often than they’ve met to negotiate an end to this stalemate.”

“Those officers deserve to be paid for the work they do to keep those members safe,” Kelley added. “The least Congress can do for these patriotic American workers is act before legislators leave town for the weekend, or, worse, head off on a weeks-long recess.”

RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown

Photo by Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images

Kelley called the partial shutdown a “moral failure,” noting that families are unable to put food on the table simply because Congress can’t put in the work.

“A TSO selling plasma to keep the lights on is unconscionable,” Kelley said. “Tens of thousands of families turning to food banks because Congress refuses to do its job is a national disgrace. This is a profound moral failure, and the American people should know who’s responsible for it.”

“The time for excuses is over,” Kelley added. “Pass a measure to reopen DHS, pay these workers, and don’t go home until you do.”

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