Deadlock in Congress causes partial shutdown of the department that runs ICE in the US

Trump administration announces withdrawal of ICE agents from Minnesota The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) went into a partial shutdown this Saturday (14), after congressmen failed to reach an agreement on changes to the rules governing the performance of immigration agents. ✅ Follow g1’s international news channel on WhatsApp The impasse revolves around opposition proposals to impose new restrictions on operations by the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Both work in immigration inspection and border security. Some employees considered “non-essential” will be automatically placed on leave. But immigrant deportation operations must continue, as must most federal homeland security programs. Democrats, who oppose Donald Trump’s government, want federal immigration agents to follow rules similar to those applied to local police officers in operations. This would bring clearer limits on approaches, arrests and operations. Among the proposals is the requirement that agents remove masks used during searches and arrests of immigrants. The use of these masks sparked protests after operations considered aggressive in cities like Minneapolis. Trump’s Republicans claim that the changes would put agents at risk. The president criticized Democrats and said that it is necessary to “protect security forces”, including ICE. Asked on Friday (13) whether he would participate directly in negotiations with congressmen, Trump said he was already talking to parliamentarians. Even without budget approval for DHS, ICE and CBP operations should not stop. This is because these bodies have a separate source of resources, in excess of US$135 billion, approved in July within a budget package proposed by Trump. Tense atmosphere ICE agent during operation in Minneapolis, on January 18, 2026 REUTERS/Seth Herald On Thursday (12), Republicans hoped that the announcement of the end of an intensive deportation operation in Minneapolis would help unlock the vote. It didn’t work. Only one of the 47 Democratic senators voted in favor of the bill. At least three were needed. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen told CNN that, even with the withdrawal of ICE and CBP from Minneapolis, there is no guarantee that agents will not operate in other cities or carry out searches without a judicial warrant. “This is what is making people angry, and this needs to be corrected,” he said. The shutdown begins months after another prolonged federal government shutdown, which lasted 43 days last year, amid a dispute over federal health care subsidies. VIDEOS: most watched on g1

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