US: Senate ends shutdown with ICE-free DHS funding bill

The US Senate on Friday passed legislation that will unlock funds to pay tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers who were forced to go five weeks without pay as the White House and Congress quibbled over immigration enforcement and funding.

Friday's bill, which passed in a rare overnight vote, will make funds available to most of Homeland Security, including TSA and the US Coast Guard, but withholds funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday said, "This agreement funds TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, CISA, strengthens security at the border and ports of entry, and keeps America safe."

Schumer added that, "Democrats held firm in our opposition that Donald Trump's rogue and deadly militia should not get more funding without serious reforms," he added.

Political infighting led to massive airport waits and unpaid TSA workers

Both ICE and CBP are at the heart of the now 42-day funding fight, with Congressional Democrats initially blocking funds in response to President Donald Trump's massive and chaotic deployment of armed and masked federal agents almost exclusively to Democrat-governed cities.

The aggressive approach of ICE and CBP deployments combined with the perceived immunity enjoyed by those agents has led to numerous violent conflicts between agents and citizens.

In January, ICE agents shot and killed two US citizens — one of whom was unarmed and another who was legally carrying a firearm — within days of each other. Both individuals were involved in altercations sparked by ICE agents attempting to arrest "illegal immigrants" and disperse protesters and observers.  

Prior to Friday, Democrats had offered to fund various agencies individually as a way to block a weekslong funding fight but President Trump ordered Congressional Republicans to refuse the move.

Despite complaining about Democrats' tactics, Trump insists funding be total and told Republicans that no bills should be considered before passage of his so-called Save America Act — a controversial new bill that Republicans and the president claim will introduce "voting security measures" by requiring voters to show a passport or birth certificate in order to vote. Democrats have blasted the initiative as a cheap attempt to disenfranchise voters.

On Thursday, Trump railed against Democrats and vowed to take executive action to pay 50,000 TSA workers if Congress did not act.

After passing the Senate, the bill will now move to the House of Representatives for final consideration.

Edited by: Alex Berry