WASHINGTON, February 4, 2026: The latest federal shutdown ended after it was signed by Donald Trump late last night. The House voted late yesterday 217 to 214 to adopt the Senate’s modified funding package and send it to the White House for the president’s signature.
The budget now funds the departments of Education, Labor, Pentagon, State and Treasury through the fiscal year that ends in September. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was funded for two weeks while Congress works on reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demanded by the Democrats.
Congress must agree on funding for DHS be February 17 to keep from shutting down parts of DHS. ICE, which is leading the controversy, is fully funded. However, if the Democrats and the Republicans are unable to resolve their differences by the 17th over ICE tactics, funding for services like the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Border Patrol, among others, will again lapse leading to another partial federal shutdown.
El Paso’s Congresswoman, Veroncia Escobar, was not among the 21 Democrats that voted to end the shutdown even though the Democratic Party leadership supported the measure to remove DHS from the funding package so that the Democrats could force a vote on the three points they believe will address the ICE controversies.
Republican Tony Gonzales, who represents parts of El Paso, voted to end the shutdown.
The Democrats are demanding three reforms for ICE immigration operations. They are requiring ICE agents to use judicial warrants, which are warrants signed by judges, to detain immigrants on immigration violations. Currently, ICE uses administrative warrants signed by DHS administrators. The second reform the Democrats want is having ICE agents remove their masks and clearly identify themselves during ICE operations, including wearing body cameras. The third demand is to create a code of conduct, like what law enforcement currently use across the nation, for ICE agents to follow.
The three reforms come after two U.S. citizens were killed by ICE agents.
Because the Republicans are opposed to the demands made by the Democrats on ICE activities it will be difficult for a third federal shutdown to be avoided. Congress must agree on funding DHS by February 17 to avert a DHS shutdown.
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