“We depend on [the Department of Homeland Security] to protect the homeland and protect the American people, and it’s being used right now as a political football. In general, we have to get out of the business of linking a major policy disagreement in Washington with funding the government.”

Those are the words of Jeh Johnson, who served as the Secretary of DHS during the Obama administration. I disagreed with him on quite a bit during his tenure and afterward. But he is absolutely right on this point.

It is incredibly unfortunate that our country now finds itself in another partial government shutdown that is impacting vital federal agencies charged with keeping us safe.

The Homeland Security Department encompasses numerous law enforcement and public safety entities comprised of over 250,000 hardworking personnel. These folks are our family, friends and neighbors –– all united in their love for our country and equipped with unique skills and abilities to defend against extensive, serious threats.

They are members of the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees, Secret Service agents and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) professionals. The department also includes the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies that, together, are committed to securing our borders and enforcing immigration laws.

These key roles all work collectively toward one goal –– keeping Americans and our critical infrastructure safe.

In Arkansas, our airport workforces in Northwest and Little Rock are helping collect food donations and gift cards for their TSA teammates given they have now missed one partial and one full paycheck. That is truly disheartening. 

I understand that my Democratic colleagues in the Senate have concerns about some of the tactics that CBP and ICE have used in their concerted effort to apprehend criminal illegal immigrants in our country. 

It is important to remember the challenges they are facing while attempting to conduct lawful operations. I have been encouraged by the Trump administration’s efforts to calm heightened tensions after the tragic deaths in Minnesota as well as its openness to negotiate with Democrats on some solutions that ultimately help law enforcement officers do their jobs with more oversight and accountability. 

The fact is the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill that earned bipartisan support actually meets some of their demands. These include funding for body-worn cameras and additional de-escalation training for ICE and CBP officers interacting with members of the public, as well as clear instruction on Americans’ right to record any interactions between them and greater transparency around how DHS is spending the significant investments provided through last year’s budget reconciliation bill.

The White House has even offered to limit ICE operations around sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals and increase oversight of DHS detention facilities. These concessions are all good faith efforts to find common ground and fully reopen this essential department. 

Slow-walking these negotiations is inflicting real pain on the thousands of families whose loved ones work tirelessly and proudly to help safeguard America. The federal unions and organizations that represent them have called for it to end immediately so these frontline employees get the paychecks they have earned.

Apart from the toll on DHS personnel, further disrupting the vital mission to protect the country and deliver crucial relief in the wake of natural disasters is unacceptable. Each day of the shutdown only compounds troubling risks. 

I will continue to implore my colleagues to ensure DHS and its employees have all the resources they need to protect and support the American people.