Senate approves funding for TSA and most of Homeland Security, but not
immigration enforcement
[March 27, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland
Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and
most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at
the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted
travel and imposed financial hardship on workers.
The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call,
next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday.
“We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then
we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
“Obviously, we’ll still have some work ahead of us.”
With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over funding for
the Department of Homeland Security, the endgame emerged in the final
hours before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. President Donald
Trump said he would sign an order to immediately pay the TSA agents,
saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The deal
did not include any of the restraints Democrats have demanded as they
sought to rein in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the outcome could have been
reached weeks ago, and vowed that his party would continue fighting to
ensure Trump's “rogue” immigration operation “does not get more funding
without serious reform.”
What’s in and out of the funding package
Senators worked through the night on the deal that would fund much of
the rest of the department, including the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Coast Guard and TSA, but without funding for Immigration and
Customs Enforcement. Customs was funded, but Border Protection was not.
The package puts no new limits on immigration enforcement, which has
remained largely uninterrupted by the shutdown. The GOP’s big tax cuts
bill that Trump signed into law last year funneled billions in extra
funds to DHS, including $75 billion for ICE operations, ensuring the
immigration officers are still being paid despite the lapse.
Next steps in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a slim
majority, are uncertain. Passage will almost certainly require
bipartisan support, as lawmakers on the left and right flanks revolt.
Conservative Republicans have panned their own party’s proposals,
demanding full funding for immigration operations. Many have vowed to
ensure ICE has the resources it needs in the next budget package to
carry out Trump's agenda.
“We will fully fund ICE. That is what this fight is about,” Sen. Eric
Schmitt, R-Mo., said as he tried to offer legislation to fund the
agency. “The border is closing. The next task is deportation.”
On-again, off-again talks collapsed
Earlier Thursday, Thune announced he had given a “last and final” offer
to the Democrats. But as the day dragged on, action stalled out.
Democrats argued the GOP proposals have not gone far enough at putting
guardrails on officers from ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and
other federal agencies who are engaged in the immigration sweeps,
particularly after the deaths of two Americans protesting the actions in
Minneapolis.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is met by reporters after
a closed door meeting with fellow Republicans on the Homeland
Security budget stalemate, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday,
March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
They want federal agents to wear identification, remove their face
masks and refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or
other sensitive places. Democrats have also pushed for an end of
administrative warrants, insisting that judges sign off before
agents search people's homes or private spaces — something new
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said he is open to
considering.
Trump had largely left the issue to Congress, but warned he was
ready to take action, threatening to send the National Guard to
airports in addition to his deployment of ICE agents who are now
checking travelers’ IDs.
The White House had floated the extraordinary move of invoking a
national emergency to pay the TSA agents, a politically and legally
fraught approach. Instead, Trump’s order would pay TSA agents using
money from his 2025 tax bill, according to a senior administration
official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t
authorized to discuss it publicly.
If the Senate package is approved by the House and signed it into
law, the action Trump announced to pay TSA agents may be temporary
or unneeded.
Airport lines grow as TSA workers endure hardships
The funding shutdown has resulted in travel delays and even warnings
of airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stop coming to
work.
Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40% callout rates of
TSA workers and nearly 500 of the agency's nearly 50,000
transportation security officers have quit during the shutdown.
Nationwide on Wednesday, more than 11% of the TSA employees on the
schedule missed work, according to DHS. That is more than 3,120
callouts.
Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of
Government Employees, said the union is grateful the TSA workers
will be paid, but said Congress must stay in session to pass a deal
“that funds DHS, pays all DHS workers, and keeps these vital
agencies running.”
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Melissa Gates
said she would not make her flight to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after
waiting more than 2½ hours and still not reaching the security
checkpoint. She said no other flights were available until Friday.
“I should have just driven, right?” Gates said. “Five hours would
have been hilarious next to this.”
___
Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking, Rebecca
Santana, Collin Binkley and Ben Finley in Washington, Lekan Oyekanmi
in Houston, Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York, Rio Yamat in Las
Vegas, Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, and Gabriela Aoun Angueira
in San Diego contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
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