DHS Shutdown Imminent? Rep. Pete Sessions Addresses Funding Deadline in Pflugerville

TL;DR: As a critical funding deadline for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approaches, U.S. Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) addressed the political standoff during a visit to Pflugerville, Texas. While promoting a separate water infrastructure initiative, Sessions weighed in on the “doable” possibility of a partial government shutdown for DHS, highlighting the deep partisan divide over border security and immigration enforcement policies, particularly concerning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This article breaks down the funding process, the political stakes, and the practical implications of a potential shutdown.

Introduction: A Local Visit, A National Crisis

On February 7, 2026, U.S. Representative Pete Sessions, a senior Republican from Texas, found himself at the center of two distinct but politically charged discussions. In Pflugerville, a growing suburb of Austin, he announced new federal guidance for a local water infrastructure mission. However, the broader national context—and the focus of his subsequent interview with KXAN—was the rapidly approaching deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With Congress facing a major impasse over funding for border security and immigration enforcement, the specter of a partial government shutdown for one of the nation’s largest security agencies is “doable,” according to Sessions. This situation underscores how local political events are often a stage for grappling with existential national budgetary and policy conflicts.

Key Points: The Core of the DHS Funding Standoff

Here are the essential takeaways from Rep. Sessions’ comments and the current legislative situation:

• Imminent Deadline: Congress must pass a continuing resolution (CR) or full appropriations bill for DHS by a set deadline (typically a Friday in early February) to prevent a shutdown of the department’s non-essential functions.
• Sessions’ Stance: Rep. Sessions indicated that a DHS-specific shutdown is a plausible outcome (“doable”) due to unresolved partisan fights, primarily over funding levels for border barriers and restrictions on ICE operations.
• Key Divisive Issues: The conflict centers on demands from some conservative Republicans for significantly higher funding for physical border barriers and strict limits on the Biden administration’s immigration parole and enforcement policies, which Democrats and the White House oppose as extreme and wasteful.
• Local vs. National: Sessions’ Pflugerville visit for a water project highlights the dual role of lawmakers: addressing local district needs while negotiating high-stakes federal policy that can trigger a national crisis.
• ICE as a Focal Point: heightened tensions surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are a primary driver of the negotiation breakdown, with some lawmakers seeking to curtail its detention and deportation capabilities.

Background: How Government Funding (and Shutdowns) Work

The Annual Appropriations Process

The U.S. federal government operates on a fiscal year that runs from October 1 to September 30. By law, Congress must pass 12 separate appropriations bills to fund every cabinet department and agency for the upcoming year. These bills are traditionally passed before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. When this fails, Congress often passes a continuing resolution (CR), a short-term stopgap measure that extends current funding levels (or provides temporary adjustments) for a set period, preventing a shutdown.

The Anatomy of a Partial Shutdown

A “government shutdown” occurs when Congress and the President fail to enact appropriations or a CR. Not all government operations cease. Agencies with multi-year funding or “mandatory” programs (like Social Security, Medicare) continue. However, agencies funded through the annual discretionary process—like DHS—must halt non-essential operations. This means:

• Furloughs (temporary unpaid leave) for a large portion of the civilian workforce.
• Cessation of non-emergency activities, including some border patrol hiring, training, and administrative functions.
• Potential disruption to services like TSA (though officers typically work without pay), Coast Guard operations, FEMA preparedness grants, and cybersecurity monitoring.
• ICE operations are complex; while enforcement activities may continue under certain exemptions, support staff and administrative functions would be severely hampered.

Historically, shutdowns are costly, disruptive, and damaging to federal employee morale and public confidence. The 2018-2019 shutdown, which lasted 35 days and included DHS, cost the economy an estimated $11 billion and caused significant hardship for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Analysis: The Political Chemistry of a DHS Shutdown

The current impasse is not about a lack of money but a profound policy disagreement weaponized through the budget process. Rep. Sessions’ assessment that a shutdown is “doable” reflects the hardened positions.

The Conservative Demand: Leveraging DHS for Border Policy

A faction of House Republicans, particularly those aligned with the “America First” caucus, are using the DHS funding bill as leverage to force the Biden administration to adopt hardline border policies. Their demands typically include:

• Substantial increases in funding for physical border wall construction, often specifying billions beyond the administration’s request.
• Policy riders that would reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy (MPP), end “catch and release,” and severely restrict the use of humanitarian parole for certain nationalities.
• Limits on ICE: Proposals to cap the number of ICE detention beds, restrict interior enforcement activities, or prohibit cooperation with certain local jurisdictions.

For this group, a short-term shutdown is an acceptable cost to achieve these policy goals, viewing it as a necessary confrontation.

The Democratic & Administration Position: Refusing to Negotiate Under Threat

Democratic leaders and the White House categorically reject these demands. Their argument is twofold:

1. Policy: The demanded policies are inhumane, ineffective, and undermine the administration’s approach to managing migration and asylum.
2. Process: They refuse to negotiate on policy changes attached to a must-pass funding bill, calling it extortion. They are willing to pass a clean CR at current or slightly adjusted levels to keep DHS open while separate immigration legislation is debated.

This creates a classic stalemate: one side will not fund the government without policy concessions, the other will not make concessions to fund the government.

Rep. Sessions’ Role and The Texas Factor

As a senior member of the House Rules Committee and a representative from a border state deeply affected by migration, Sessions is a key figure. His public framing of a shutdown as “doable” signals that the conservative negotiating bloc is prepared to hold the line. Texas Republicans have been some of the most vocal critics of the administration’s border policies, and Sessions’ comments reflect that state’s political pressure. His simultaneous promotion of a Pflugerville water project is a classic legislative tactic: showcasing tangible local benefits while standing firm on a contentious national issue that resonates with his base.

Practical Advice: What a DHS Shutdown Means for You

If a DHS funding lapse occurs, the impact will be felt unevenly across the country. Here is a breakdown:

For Federal Employees and Contractors

• Approximately 60-70% of DHS’s ~240,000 civilian employees would be furloughed without pay.
• Essential personnel (CBP officers, Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA responders on active duty, air traffic controllers) would work without pay, with backpay guaranteed only after a shutdown ends via legislation.
• Many contractors supporting DHS operations would see work暂停 or delayed payments.
• Advice: Monitor official agency guidance. Financial planning is critical. Contact creditors about potential hardship programs. Unemployment benefits may be available for furloughed workers, depending on state rules.

For Travelers and Commerce

• TSA: Screeners will report for duty but face pay delays, potentially leading to increased absenteeism and longer wait times.
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Processing at ports of entry may slow due to reduced staff. Non-essential training and administrative functions halt.
• Coast Guard: Operations continue, but maintenance and training stop. Pay for active-duty members is delayed.
• Advice: Arrive at airports earlier. Be patient with CBP processing. Check port-specific wait times via CBP’s website.

For Border Communities and Security

• Ongoing construction on border barriers may pause if contractors are furloughed or payments are frozen.
• Grants to state and local law enforcement for anti-drug and anti-gang task forces (like Operation Stonegarden) are frozen.
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) operations are scaled back, reducing support for critical infrastructure protection.
• Advice: Local governments and non-profits relying on DHS grants should prepare for cash flow interruptions.

For Immigration Proceedings and ICE Operations

• ICE enforcement and removal operations may continue, but support staff (attorneys, administrative) are furloughed, causing case backlogs.
• Immigration court proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) would likely be postponed for non-detained cases, drastically increasing delays.
• Advice: Individuals in immigration proceedings should consult with their legal counsel about hearing status. Expect significant delays in all non-urgent immigration benefits processing.

FAQ: Common Questions About a Potential DHS Shutdown

Q1: Is a “government shutdown” or just a “DHS shutdown”?

A: It would be a partial shutdown affecting only departments and agencies that have not yet received their FY2026 appropriations. If only DHS is without funding, it is a DHS-specific shutdown. Other agencies (like Defense, Education) may be fully funded if their bills passed. This is a common scenario when Congress passes bills piecemeal.

Q2: Will Social Security, Medicare, and VA benefits stop?

A: No. These are classified as “mandatory spending” programs with multi-year appropriations. Checks will continue to be sent. However, customer service and administrative functions at these agencies (which are often housed in DHS or other discretionary-funded departments) may be reduced.

Q3: Will the border be “open”?

A: No. Border Patrol and CBP officers are considered essential and will continue to work. However, their ability to process people and conduct operations will be hampered by reduced support staff, lack of fuel and supplies in some cases, and low morale due to pay uncertainty. It does not change legal entry requirements or asylum laws.

Q4: How long could a shutdown last?

A: Historically, they last from a few days to over a month. Duration depends entirely on political will. A short CR (one week) is often used as a negotiating tactic. A prolonged shutdown becomes increasingly painful for lawmakers as public pressure mounts from unpaid workers and disrupted services.

Q5: Can the President override Congress to keep DHS open?

A: No. The Constitution grants Congress the “power of the purse.” The President cannot unilaterally appropriate funds. He can only sign or veto bills Congress passes. In a shutdown, he can direct agencies to find creative ways to minimize impact, but core funding authority rests with Congress.

Q6: Do lawmakers get paid during a shutdown?

A: Yes. Under the 27th Amendment, congressional pay cannot be altered during the current session. However, some lawmakers have voluntarily refused their pay during past shutdowns as a show of solidarity. This is a political gesture, not a legal requirement.

Conclusion: The High Cost of Political Brinkmanship

Rep. Pete Sessions’ remarks from Pflugerville crystallize a painful reality in modern Washington: the routine business of funding the government has become a high-stakes game of chicken, with national security agencies held hostage to partisan warfare. The “doable” DHS shutdown is not an inevitable natural disaster; it is a manufactured crisis resulting from a failure of political compromise. While the immediate focus is on the deadline and the leverage it provides, the long-term cost is borne by dedicated federal workers, travelers, border communities, and the very credibility of the institutions tasked with protecting the homeland. The water infrastructure project announced in Pflugerville represents the kind of non-partisan, district-focused work that can get done. The DHS funding battle represents the exact opposite—a corrosive partisan stalemate where the threat of shutdown is a tactic, not an accident. The coming days will test whether the political pain of a shutdown outweighs the perceived policy gains for those holding the line. For the public, the message is clear: understand the process, prepare for disruption, and hold your elected officials accountable for using the nation’s security as a bargaining chip.

Sources and Further Reading

The following authoritative sources provide factual data on government funding, shutdown procedures, and DHS operations:

• U.S. Congress – Committee on Appropriations: https://appropriations.house.gov/ (For bill texts, hearings, and markup schedules).
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “Government Shutdowns: Historical Perspectives and Potential Effects” (Updated regularly). Available via crsreports.congress.gov.
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO): “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036” and historical cost analyses of past shutdowns. https://www.cbo.gov/.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security: “Shutdown Plans” and contingency funding notices. https://www.dhs.gov/.
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB): “Circular No. A-11: Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget,” Section 101. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/