Trump Signs DHS Funding Bill, Ending Record 76-Day Partial Government Shutdown
President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill on April 30, 2026, funding most of the Department of Homeland Security and ending the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history. The partial shutdown, which began on February 14, 2026, had lasted 76 days and caused significant disruption for the approximately 260,000 DHS employees across agencies including the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and FEMA.
The legislation funds DHS operations broadly but notably excludes direct funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Those immigration enforcement agencies had largely continued operating through separate funding streams, including the $170 billion Congress approved for Trump's immigration agenda last year. However, TSA and other non-enforcement personnel faced repeated threats of missed paychecks, with more than 1,000 TSA officers resigning since the shutdown began.
The shutdown originated from a political standoff following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during immigration enforcement protests in Minneapolis. Democrats refused to fund ICE and Border Patrol without operational reforms, while Republicans insisted immigration enforcement funding must not be eliminated. The impasse was broken when Republican leaders agreed to pursue the $70 billion in ICE and Border Patrol funding separately through budget reconciliation, with a vote expected in May 2026 and a target of reaching the president's desk by June 1.
For immigration applicants and visa holders, the end of the shutdown may help stabilize USCIS operations and reduce some processing delays that had been exacerbated by the funding uncertainty.