March 25, New Delhi — U.S. Senators raced on Tuesday to finalize a proposal to end the Homeland Security shutdown by funding a significant portion of the department.
U.S. Senate Democrats said on Tuesday that they would continue to push for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of any deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Earlier, Senate Republicans sent Democrats a formal offer on Tuesday and met with President Trump on Monday evening and returned optimistic about a possible deal. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he was looking at a potential agreement in the Senate to end a partial government shutdown.
More than 450 Transportation Security Administration officers have quit since the start of a partial government shutdown on February 14, leading to massive delays at U.S. airports.
About 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are going without pay and are set to miss a second full paycheck on Friday. Hundreds of U.S. immigration agents and Homeland Security Investigations officers began deploying at 14 U.S. airports on Monday to assist with security screening, including at some airports.