Texas Senator Ted Cruz is calling for federal immigration enforcement to be split from the rest of Homeland Security’s funding as airport chaos spirals and travelers face hours-long delays.
Cruz’s proposal is part of a dramatic new plan to break a bitter Washington standoff and is gaining traction among Republicans.
It would carve out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to and pass it separately – a move Cruz says is necessary because Democrats have become ‘so extreme and unreasonable’ that a broader deal may be impossible.
‘What I’ve suggested is that the Democrats have gotten so extreme and unreasonable that I don’t know that they will ever be willing to fund Department of Homeland Security,’ Cruz told The Hill on Saturday.
He added that Republicans could bypass Democratic opposition entirely by using a procedural maneuver requiring only a simple majority.
‘If that’s where the Democrats are, I’ve suggested let’s fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation. That Republicans can do with just 50 votes, we can do that relatively quickly and the Democrat lunacy on open borders can be put to an end.’
Reconciliation would mean getting ICE funded through a congressional fast-track process with a simple majority vote, rather than being blocked by the Democrats.
The high-stakes proposal comes as the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security stretches on with its consequences are being felt most visibly at the nation’s airports.
Across the country, security lines have lengthened into multi-hour ordeals, with some travelers missing flights altogether as staffing shortages at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worsen.
Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz has proposed splitting ICE and CBP funding from the broader Homeland Security bill to break the shutdown impasse
Travelers across the US are facing airport security wait times of two to four hours due to staffing shortages
‘Millions of Americans right now are facing two-, three-, four-hour waits at airports. They’re missing their planes for spring break because the Democrats refuse to pay TSA,’ Cruz said.
‘TSA agents have now missed two paychecks in a row. Over 300 of them have resigned. They had to go get another job because they have to pay their rent and feed their kids.’
The strain is already visible on the ground. At major hubs like Houston’s airports where wait times have stretched beyond three hours as growing numbers of TSA workers call out sick during the funding lapse.
The political deadlock has also triggered an extraordinary escalation from Trump, who warned he is prepared to deploy ICE agents directly into airports if Congress fails to act.
‘ICE is ready to go on Monday,’ Trump wrote on social media, adding: ‘I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY.’ NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!’
The plan would mark a dramatic expansion of immigration enforcement into airport security with Trump saying agents would arrest ‘all Illegal Immigrants’, specifically referencing individuals from Somalia in his posts.
But even as Republicans rally around more aggressive tactics, the strategy inside the Senate is evolving.
Senator Thom Tillis confirmed Cruz had approached him about splitting the funding bill and said he was open to it.
The political deadlock has triggered an extraordinary escalation from President Donald Trump, who warned he is prepared to deploy ICE agents directly into airports if Congress fails to act
Senator Patty Murray has attempted to pass a targeted funding bill excluding ICE and CBP but was blocked
President Donald Trump said ICE agents could be deployed to airports if the funding standoff continues
Wait times at Houston’s major airports have exceeded three hours as more TSA staff call out sick. Pictured, the long line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Friday
Sen. Thom Tillis said he is open to splitting DHS funding if it helps break the impasse, adding he would support ‘anything’ that moves negotiations forward
‘Anything that we have to do, even incrementally, to get some of this impasse done, I’d be open to,’ Tillis said, adding that lawmakers should not leave Washington until a resolution is reached.
Senator John Kennedy outlined a similar approach in a televised interview, suggesting Republicans fund the bulk of Homeland Security immediately and then pass ICE funding separately through reconciliation, bypassing a Democratic filibuster.
‘Let’s open up everything but ICE, OK? Let’s open it up … but I can tell you what’s going to happen next. The Republicans are going to put a reconciliation bill on the floor that requires Republican votes to fund ICE, and the Democrats don’t have the vote to stop us,’ Kennedy said on C-SPAN.
Democrats, however, have taken a sharply different approach – pushing to fund key agencies like TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard separately while demanding sweeping reforms to immigration enforcement policies.
Senator John Kennedy proposed funding DHS without ICE and then passing ICE funding through reconciliation
Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned that airport disruptions will worsen if a deal is not reached quickly
Earlier this month, Democratic Senator Patty Murray sought unanimous consent to pass a targeted funding measure excluding ICE and CBP, but Republicans blocked the effort, accusing Democrats of playing ‘political games.’
With absentee rates rising among TSA workers and airport disruptions worsening by the day, pressure is mounting on both sides to find a way out of the impasse.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the growing urgency, warning that the situation could deteriorate rapidly without a breakthrough.
‘If that group that’s meeting can’t come up with a solution really quickly, things are going to get worse and worse,’ Thune said.
