US House votes to end government shutdown over immigration operations

Members of the US House of Representatives approved a Senate-passed bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sending it to President Donald Trump for signature on Thursday.

The measure reopens DHS but does not provide funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or parts of Customs and Border Protection - the two subagencies responsible for immigration enforcement.

Democrats have refused to fund the two agencies, unless they are reformed following two deadly shootings in Minnesota involving federal immigration officers.

Republicans have rejected the demands, instead pushing for full funding for ICE and Border Patrol, resulting in an impasse.

The two agencies would now get additional funding in another, separate bill, that is currently being considered by the House.

The DHS, which oversees these two agencies, has continued to run without routine funds since 14 February, leading to major disruptions and hours-long wait times at airports across the US.

But Thursday's vote clears the funding deadlock, ensuring security officers at checkpoints can now get paid in time.

In March, after days of snarled traffic at US airports, Trump signed executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, who are considered essential workers and are required to work without immediate pay during a federal shutdown.

While that eased tensions, the Trump administration warned that emergency DHS funds were set to run out later this week.

Calls for action further intensified after Saturday's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, where prosecutors say a man attempted to assassinate Trump.

The White House budget office warned that homeland security operations not involved in Trump's immigration crackdown could run out of money in May for workers employed in presidential and airport security.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had resisted bringing the Senate-passed bill to a vote for weeks, calling it inadequate and insisting that immigration enforcement be fully funded, eventually relented.

"We were not going to have lines at TSA. Everybody will get their paychecks now," Johnson told reporters after the vote.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin celebrated the end of the shutdown on X.

"To be clear, this Democrat shutdown NEVER should have happened," he wrote.

Democrats said the shutdown was extended for more than a month by Speaker Johnson for "no reason at all".

"This is the same bill the Senate unanimously passed five weeks ago," said Patty Murray, the top Democrat on government funding in the Senate. "After Republicans spent months blocking disaster relief and funding for the TSA, Coast Guard, and our cyber defense agency, it is a very good thing that this bill is finally on track to be signed into law to fund these agencies."

Congressional Republicans now turn their attention to approve up to $70bn in funding for ICE and CBP for the remainder of Trump's term, while Democrats continue to demand tighter oversight and limits on enforcement practices.

Last week, Republicans used a procedural manoeuvre to clear the bill in the Senate that did not require the support of opposition Democrats.

It is unclear when House Republican leaders plan to put the Senate-passed bill to the floor for a vote.

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