Immigration Enforcement — 2026-03-25
DHS Shutdown Day 40: 500 TSA Officers Quit, ICE Deploys to 14 Airports While Immigration Courts Remain Closed
The DHS partial shutdown entered its 40th day with approximately 500 TSA officers having resigned and over 50,000 working without pay. Multiple airports report 40%+ call-out rates, with Houston, Atlanta, and BWI experiencing hours-long security lines. ICE deployed hundreds of agents to 14 airports, though they lack TSA checkpoint training. Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked on whether to tie immigration enforcement policy to DHS funding. Simultaneously, all immigration courts under the Executive Office for Immigration Review remain closed, halting adjudication even as enforcement accelerates under separate funding authority.
Analysis
The structural disconnect is the story: enforcement operations are fully funded and operating at record pace (1,000+ arrests/day) while every oversight and adjudication mechanism is shut down. Immigration courts closed means detained individuals have no path to a hearing; family access restrictions mean conditions go unmonitored. This creates a legal and political liability that will compound the longer the shutdown continues.
The structural disconnect is the story: enforcement operations are fully funded and operating at record pace (1,000+ arrests/day) while every oversight and adjudication mechanism is shut down. Immigration courts closed means detained individuals have no path to a hearing; family access restrictions mean conditions go unmonitored. This creates a legal and political liability that will compound the longer the shutdown continues.