Right on the heels of the Thursday announcement by White House Border Czar Tom Homan that Operation Metro Surge would be winding down and federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities would soon return to normal levels, Senate Democrats blocked a motion to advance a House-approved bill that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the next year.
And, now, the Senate has adjourned for a week-long recess and its members are jetting out of Washington, D.C., all but assuring that another government shutdown is on the way.
The motion required 60 votes to advance, but if failed by a vote of 52-47. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democrat to cross the aisle and join the Republican effort to get a DHS funding bill on the president's desk before its current funding runs out at midnight Friday.
Sen. Kennedy Delivers a Humorous and Direct Message to Schumer About Those DHS Bill Demands
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who made the call to send lawmakers home and said he'd call them back to D.C. if negotiations between the two side progress, said of the vote, "What it appears to me, at least at this point, is happening is the Democrats, like they did last fall, they really don't want the solution. They don't want the answer. They want the political issue." (Thune actually was a "no" vote on the motion because it would enable him to quickly bring the bill back to the floor at a yet-to-be-determined date.)
In blocking the motion, Senate Democrats were essentially rejecting an offer from the White House, which Democrats said didn't go far enough to address their concerns, mostly about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. "They did not address our major concerns. We’re going through it right now and intend to offer a counteroffer,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said before the vote:
“Democrats have been very clear. We will not support an extension of the status quo, a status quo that permits masked secret police to barge into people’s homes without warrants, no guardrails, zero oversight from independent authorities."
After the vote, Schumer took to X to say that ICE needs to be "reined in," despite the success reported earlier today by Homan.
Democrats have said it from the start: We need legislation to rein in ICE and end the violence.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 12, 2026
Without legislation, what Tom Homan says today could be reversed tomorrow on a whim from Donald Turmp.
We will not support a DHS bill that perpetuates the status quo and permits… pic.twitter.com/wAM9b9p2Nb
Ironically, the main targets of the Democrats' ongoing, and politically expedient, fury – ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) – would not be affected by a government shutdown and would continue their operations without much disruption. However, operations at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Coast Guard will be affected after the funding for those agencies lapses on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Democrats are fanning the flames and raising the rhetoric by comparing ICE to the Gestapo, fascists, and secret police.
Help us continue to report the truth about ICE and its brave accomplishments to make America safe again. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member