OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:20 PM – Monday, February 16, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains in a state of partial shutdown on Monday after a weekend of failed negotiations on Capitol Hill. While the rest of the federal government remains open and funded through September, the lapse for DHS has left roughly 260,000 employees in limbo as the White House and Senate Democrats remain deadlocked over “reforms” to immigration enforcement.
Additionally, on Friday, the DHS informed a federal court that — due to the expiration of certain congressional funding restrictions amid the partial shutdown — it could now reinstate a policy limiting or banning unannounced visits by federal lawmakers to ICE detention centers.
Government lawyers argued in filings to U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that the lapse of the relevant appropriations rider eliminated the legal basis for prior court orders blocking such restrictions. This move escalates the ongoing dispute over congressional oversight of immigration detention facilities during the funding standoff.
The shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Valentines Day, after a short-term funding extension expired. The primary point of contention is a series of “guardrails” or restrictions that Democrats are demanding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
A Federally Mandated “Code of Conduct”
A “Code of Conduct” for ICE and CBP agents is one of the key “guardrails” demanded by Senate Democrats.
Democrats argue the need for reform became more pressing following certain incidents last month that hit news headlines, such as the shooting of VA nurse Alex Pretti by CBP agents in Minneapolis and federal agents’ discovery and protection of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. According to the DHS, during an ICE operation, the undocumented Ecuadorian father had noticed ICE agents coming toward him, prompting him to quickly flee on foot and abandon his son, who was with him in public at the time. ICE agents acted to protect the boy by remaining with him before apprehending the father nearby. However, the father has since been released following a judge’s order, and both him and his son have returned to Minnesota, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).
“The facts in this case have NOT changed: The father who was illegally in the country chose to take his child with him to a [immigration] detention center,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added in a statement. “The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country.”
Under the proposed “code,” agents would also be prohibited from wearing masks, required to display visible identification, and forced to keep body cameras activated — measures the Trump administration and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have rejected as tactical “handcuffs.”
While agencies like the Coast Guard, TSA, and Secret Service are operating without active pay, ICE and CBP remain largely insulated from the shutdown’s impact. This is due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed in July 2025, a $170 billion reconciliation package that provided massive lump-sum funding for enforcement and deportation, allowing the administration to continue its interior initiatives despite the current budget impasse on Capitol Hill.
Warrant Requirements
Another demand revolves around new mandates requiring judicial warrants for agents to enter private property. This dispute is arguably the most technical and critical “guardrail” in the ongoing DHS shutdown. At its core, it is a battle over whether the 4th Amendment’s protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures” applies to immigration enforcement on private property.
The current standoff was triggered by a leaked DHS Memorandum from May 12, 2025. In the memo, the Trump administration authorized ICE and CBP agents to use administrative warrants as a basis for forcible entry into private homes. Officials argue that if an illegal alien has already received a “Final Order of Removal” from an immigration judge, they are effectively a fugitive and have a “diminished expectation of privacy.” Therefore, a second warrant from a judicial judge shouldn’t be necessary to “effectuate the removal.”
The Trump administration also argues that these Democrat-proposed changes would cripple other initiatives, such as “Operation Winter SHIELD” (Securing Homeland Infrastructure by Enhancing Layered Defense). Winter SHIELD is an FBI initiative that was recently launched to help U.S. organizations strengthen cyber resilience against nation-state threats. The nine-week campaign focuses on 10 critical, actionable steps to protect IT/OT systems and infrastructure from ransomware and cyberattacks.
What is Affected Today?
Since roughly 90% of DHS employees are classified as “essential,” the immediate impact on public safety has been muted, though the financial strain on workers is growing.
For TSA and airport security, roughly 60,000 TSA officers are reporting for duty at airports across the country. They are currently working without a guarantee of when their next paycheck will arrive, though the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act ensures they will receive back pay once the lapse ends.
Unlike the other military branches, the U.S. Coast Guard falls under DHS and is currently operating without active funding. The Secret Service is likewise affected but remains fully operational. Regarding agencies like FEMA, emergency disaster response remains active, though long-term recovery projects and certain grant programs have been paused.
Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led funding bill late last week, arguing it did not go far enough to ensure “accountability and human rights” at the border. In response, President Trump has signaled he will not compromise on the $38 billion warehouse-to-jail conversion plan or his broader deportation initiatives.
As of midday Monday, no further floor votes are scheduled in the Senate, and both sides appear dug in, with some analysts predicting the lapse could stretch through the end of the month.
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