Sen. John Fetterman said he 'absolutely' expects a DHS shutdown as ICE negotiations stall

Anna Orso, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb 8, 2026

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U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Sunday that he expects the Department of Homeland Security will shut down Friday as negotiations over immigration enforcement have stalled, an outcome that could impact air travel and emergency response across the nation.

“I absolutely would expect that it’s going to shut down,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said during an interview on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."

Funding for DHS is scheduled to lapse Friday, a deadline that lawmakers set after separating the agency’s funding from other parts of the federal budget and approving a two-week extension to continue talks.

At the center of the impasse is Democrats’ insistence on overhauling federal immigration enforcement. The party’s leaders drafted a list of 10 policies they want Republicans to agree to in exchange for their support in funding DHS, which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a part of.

Among Democrats’ demands are banning immigration enforcement agents from wearing masks and requiring DHS officers obtain a warrant signed by a judge before entering a home.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Sunday during an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union" that “at this point” he was not willing to accept a deal that didn’t include President Donald Trump’s administration implementing Democrats’ full list of ICE changes.

“We know that ICE is completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries said. “They’ve gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in.”

Fetterman has called for significant changes at DHS, including the firing of Secretary Kristi Noem. But he said Sunday that Democrats shouldn’t expect to “get all 10″ demands.

“We, the Democrats, we provided 10 kinds of basic things, and then the Republicans pushed back quickly saying, ‘That’s a Christmas wish list,’ and that they’re nonstarters,” Fetterman, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said. “I truly don’t know what specifically are the Democrats’ red lines that it has to be — certainly not going to get all 10.”

Fetterman generally opposes any measure that would shut down the government and has been the only Senate Democrat to vote for some Republican budget proposals. He added that he is concerned about federal workers, including TSA agents, not being paid amid a funding lapse.

“Every American deserves to be paid for the work that they’ve done,” he said. “That’s real lives, and they’re not wealthy if they’re TSA folks. They’re allowing us to fly safe here in America, and that’s part of that conversation now too.”

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