Fetterman Says DHS On Track To Shut Down Because His Party Really Doesn’t Want To Fund ICE

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman is expressing pessimism that Congress will reach a spending deal for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), citing his own party’s opposition to funding immigration measures in the absence of sweeping restrictions.

Fetterman told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a brief interview that congressional Democrats are unlikely to agree to another short-term patch for DHS that extends funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or a one-year spending deal. Lawmakers have just nine days to reach a deal to fund the sprawling agency — overseeing the Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and federal immigration enforcement — before a Feb. 13 shutdown deadline. (RELATED: ‘It’s disgusting’: Philadelphia DA’s rhetoric against ICE is too extreme for Fetterman)

“At this point, there may not be Democratic appetite to vote for ICE. [funding]” Fetterman told the DCNF, adding that he supports some changes in immigration enforcement.

Fetterman, who frequently breaks with his party’s far left, also told DCNF that he rejects calls from some of his colleagues to dismantle ICE.

“I strongly reject the idea of ​​‘abolish ICE’ and some of the extremism associated with it,” Fetterman continued, adding that the viral slogan making a comeback among progressives risks backfiring. “We have [Democrats] I’ve been there before. They yell about it, and then they have to back down and disavow those opinions. »

Congress approved a package of five appropriations bills and a two-week extension of DHS funding at current levels, which President Donald Trump signed Tuesday. Nearly all House Democrats — and about half of Senate Democrats — opposed the short-term patch despite a push for a two-week funding extension to allow for negotiations with the White House on immigration enforcement.

Top Republicans have already rejected several of Democrats’ proposed reforms to federal immigration enforcement, including new warrant requirements and banning officers from wearing masks.

Democrats also rejected another stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily fund DHS after the Feb. 13 deadline.

“There’s no way I would support this,” Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, one of 23 Senate Democrats who voted Friday for the two-week extension of DHS funding, told DCNF.

Democratic leaders have yet to send Republicans a list of proposed immigration reforms, despite the looming funding crisis.

“We’re going to have strict, strong legislation,” Schumer said at a news conference Wednesday. Democrats also rejected a measure launched by South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to criminalize the conduct of state and local officials who implement sanctuary policies to provide cover for illegal immigrants.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), joined by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Brian Schatz, speaks to reporters January 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said it was nearly impossible to reach a DHS funding deal before the mid-February deadline given time constraints.

Thune also accused top Democrats Wednesday of dragging their feet on a deal to fund DHS — and immigration enforcement — before the shutdown deadline.

“Both he and, for that matter, leader Schumer are afraid of their shadow, and they are experiencing a lot of blowback and pressure from their left,” Thune told reporters. “So I don’t think they want to do it, especially in [Jeffries’] In this case, I don’t think he wants to make a deal at all. I think he wants the problem.

Republicans gave a $75 billion infusion to ICE for detention and deportation efforts as part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill in July 2025 — meaning a DHS shutdown would disproportionately impact non-immigration functions under the agency’s jurisdiction.

However, some Democrats appear willing to support a shutdown to protest immigration enforcement — even though ICE operations will likely continue at full capacity during a prolonged hiatus in DHS funding.

“This is not an agency whose accountability systems that they’re talking about are going to rectify the problems that Americans see, which is that they’re violating our civil rights with impunity,” New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker told DCNF. “We are facing a very serious problem that needs to be addressed in a much more comprehensive way.”

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