On Sunday, March 29, 2026, Tom Homan, formerly the Trump administration's border czar, provided updates on the ongoing federal government shutdown and its impact on immigration enforcement, particularly focusing on airport security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Homan emphasized that despite President Trump's recent executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, ICE agents will continue to assist TSA at airports until officials are confident that normal operations and security measures are fully restored.
The context of Homan's remarks relates to a prolonged stalemate in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has been shut down for more than 40 days as of late March. The shutdown has created significant operational challenges across DHS agencies. Earlier that week, the Senate passed a funding bill that would allocate money for DHS operations but notably excluded funding for ICE and other immigration removal components. In contrast, the House of Representatives rejected the Senate bill and instead passed a different version that would fund the entire department, including ICE, for 60 days. This disagreement between the two chambers has left the DHS shutdown unresolved, with no clear end in sight.
Amid this deadlock, President Trump announced on Thursday that he would divert funds to pay TSA agents, who had gone unpaid for over a month due to the shutdown. The TSA disclosed last week that approximately 500 agents had quit during the shutdown period, raising concerns about airport security and staffing shortages. Homan explained that if fewer TSA agents return to work, ICE presence at airports will remain strong to support TSA personnel and maintain security. "The president has been clear. He wants to secure those airports, especially because of the increased threat posture," Homan said. "ICE is there to help our brothers and sisters in TSA. We'll be there as long as they need us, until they get back to normal operations and feel like those airports are secure."
Despite the shutdown, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continue to operate. Both agencies received substantial funding from President Trump's 2025 legislative package known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." This funding has enabled them to function even as other parts of DHS remain unfunded. Similarly, the Secret Service is being paid during the shutdown. However, other critical DHS agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Coast Guard, have not received funding. Notably, active-duty Coast Guard members are currently paid through discretionary funds.
The ongoing immigration enforcement efforts have been a contentious issue throughout the Trump administration, with increased scrutiny this year following two high-profile incidents in Minneapolis. In January, ICE and CBP officers were involved in two separate shootings that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. These incidents intensified criticism of DHS immigration tactics and led to changes in leadership within the department. Following the shootings, Homan took over control of the Minneapolis operation. Meanwhile, embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who had been an internal rival of Homan, resigned earlier in March amid controversies over department contracts. Former Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma was sworn in as her replacement last week.
The political dispute over DHS funding also extends to debates about immigration enforcement reforms. Democrats have refused to approve any DHS budget that does not include specific reforms to ICE operations. Although the Senate-passed funding bill omitted ICE funding, Democrats praised it as a partial victory because it would not finance ICE and would keep the door open for further negotiations on reform measures.
Homan pushed back against Democratic demands, stating that the administration has already implemented many changes. He accused Democrats of obstructing reforms, including the deployment of body cameras for ICE agents. "The bill they're holding up right now actually gives $120 million to buy more cameras," Homan noted.
"I've already talked to them. They want to talk about policy and legislative policy. Look, if they want to change the law, change the law.
We're enforcing laws they enacted."
One of the Democrats' key demands involves prohibiting ICE from detaining undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations such as hospitals, houses of worship, and schools. Although the Trump administration announced a policy shift in January 2025 to allow arrests at these sites, Homan denied that ICE currently conducts such arrests in these sensitive places. "You can't point to one instance when we actually went into a church and school because we try very hard to wait for people to leave places," he said. "We wait for them. We arrest them in their home or arrest them in their community. We try very hard not to go into those sensitive locations because we know there's an issue there."
In summary, the DHS shutdown continues to affect multiple agencies, with immigration enforcement operations at the center of the political and operational challenges. President Trump's administration is maintaining a strong ICE presence at airports to back up TSA personnel amid staffing shortages caused by the shutdown. Funding disagreements between the Senate and the House, alongside Democratic demands for immigration reform, have prolonged the DHS shutdown with no immediate resolution. Leadership changes within DHS and scrutiny of enforcement tactics, especially following the Minneapolis shootings, underscore the complex and contentious environment surrounding immigration enforcement today.