By Lindsay Wise, Siobhan Hughes and Natalie Andrews
WASHINGTON -- Senators said they were closing in on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security except for the agency that carries out immigrant arrests and deportations, signaling a possible breakthrough after a more than monthlong standoff.
"Both sides are talking in a serious way," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) as he left the Capitol Monday night.
The potential breakthrough came after a meeting at the White House between President Trump and a group of GOP senators, including Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.). "It went really well," Britt said afterward. Asked if they had a solution, she said, "We do." She declined to share details.
Pressure has been growing on lawmakers to resolve the impasse, which was sparked last month by Democrats' demands for more restrictions on immigration enforcement agents. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation. A lapse in funding at the Transportation Security Administration, part of DHS, has led to long security lines at airports across the country, as unpaid employees skip work.
The approach under discussion would restore funding for all of DHS, except for the arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that carries out immigrant arrests and deportations, called Enforcement and Removal Operations, Democratic senators said.
Under the potential deal, funding would be restored to ICE's other primary function called Homeland Security Investigations, which looks into complex international crimes, such as drug smuggling or human trafficking, said Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.).
Coons said he expected there would be guardrails that would prevent ICE from reassigning HSI agents to conduct simple arrest and deportation functions normally carried out by Enforcement and Removal Operations. The Trump administration has routinely taken HSI agents off investigative duties to help drive up daily immigrant arrests.
Should Republicans and Democrats agree to this route, Coons said the deal would also require ICE to make other changes, such as body cameras and identification for officers and additional training. It wasn't clear whether the deal would address Democrats' core demands such as a prohibition on agents wearing masks and banning a recent practice of forcing entry into private homes without a judicial warrant.
Coons and other Democrats said they expect an offer on paper from Republicans as soon as Tuesday, and the details would matter. "Trust but verify. It's part of the challenge of our dear president," Coons said, making a roller-coaster motion with his hand.
While DHS, which oversees the TSA, has been largely shut down since last month, ICE remains fully operational using $ 75 billion approved under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which could fund the agency for years even if Congress doesn't pass new appropriations.
Earlier in the day, Trump had rejected a similar approach floated by Senate Republicans to end the DHS standoff.
White House staff briefed the president on an idea to fund all parts of DHS -- including TSA and the Coast Guard -- but not ICE, according to people familiar with the matter. Republicans could then separately fund ICE through a procedural move -- known as reconciliation -- that would allow the money to clear the Senate on a simple-majority vote instead of requiring 60 votes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) walked Trump through the strategy in a weekend conversation, the person said, but Trump rejected the idea. In comments earlier Monday, Trump instead insisted that lawmakers pass not only a complete DHS package but merge it with the SAVE America Act, which centers on new voter-eligibility rules.
"I'm tying homeland security into voter identification," Trump said at an event in Memphis, Tenn. "I'm requesting that the Republican senators do that immediately. ... Don't worry about Easter, going home. In fact, make this one for Jesus," he said.
The SAVE America Act -- which like DHS funding has stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition -- would ratchet up ID requirements to vote in federal elections and mandate proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Thune told reporters that linking the two wasn't plausible politically. "I think you all know that's not realistic," he said.
Over the weekend, the president announced a plan to send ICE agents to select airports to assist with security lines. Trump on Monday said that move brought Democrats to the table to negotiate.
A spokesman for Schumer said he didn't know what Trump was talking about and such a call never happened. In a floor speech, Schumer said Trump was trying to sabotage negotiations by "demanding talks stop entirely until Congress passes the SAVE Act, a bill that has nothing--nothing--to do with paying TSA workers."
Democrats have rejected new funding for ICE, precipitating the current DHS funding lapse. The administration last week offered some concessions including greater use of body cameras.
Democrats have held firm on blocking funding for DHS, instead repeatedly proposing narrow bills that would just fund TSA or other nonimmigration-related parts of DHS.
If Congress doesn't agree on DHS funding by March 27 and leaves for a scheduled two-week recess, TSA officers are set to miss more than a month of paychecks. Thune has indicated he could keep the Senate in session until lawmakers reach a deal.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com, Lindsay Wise at lindsay.wise@wsj.com and Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 23:18 ET (03:18 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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