The US government has once again entered a partial shutdown.

Existing funding expired at midnight local time (4pm Saturday AEDT), preventing Parliament from passing the legislation needed to fully fund the government.

This is the third government shutdown since President Donald Trump’s reelection.

It’s probably not as large-scale as it’s only a partial closure. 43 days of closure last yearHowever, it can still have significant effects.

What is happening this time?

U.S. government departments and agencies are funded through appropriations bills passed periodically by Congress.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the necessary legislation to fund most government departments.

However, no funding was included for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because Democrats refused to continue funding the agency responsible for Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.

prompted by the murder of Alex Preti and Lenny Good In Minnesota, the party is demanding concrete changes to how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates.

Democrats say they will not vote on funding the department until those changes are agreed upon.

So will ICE be shut down?

no.

ICE’s annual funding has been frozen, but for now it has plenty of money.

That’s because of the huge financial aid provided to ICE. “Big beautiful banknotes”passed by Congress last July.

Provided approximately $75 billion ($106 billion) to ICE. That’s more than seven times the typical annual budget of $10 billion ($14 billion).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has been supporting ICE operations, received an injection of $12 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion yen), more than its usual annual funding.

“The missions of these agencies will be largely unaffected by the shutdown,” Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said Wednesday, chairing a Congressional hearing on the potential impact of the shutdown.

If so, what impact will the closure have?

The lapse in funding will impact other agencies within DHS.

“The good work the department is doing outside of immigration enforcement will come to a screeching halt,” Amodei said.

Officials from those agencies outlined what that would look like during a hearing Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Thomas Allan us coast guard It said that if the closure lasts for more than a few days, salaries for about 56,000 employees will be delayed.

“The closure also impairs mission readiness” as training for plane and boat crews is halted, he said.

Maritime patrols, fishing enforcement, and ship inspections will also be suspended.

From Greg Phillips Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)said his agency is still responding to the severe winter weather emergency that recently hit 30 states in the United States.

“FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has sufficient balances to continue emergency response operations for the foreseeable future,” he said, adding, “In the event of a catastrophic disaster, the Disaster Relief Fund would be severely strained.”

in Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)hundreds of staff will be furloughed, the committee heard.

but, US Secret Intelligence Service The company plans to furlough only 6% of its workforce.

“Payroll checks may stop, but the work continues,” said Deputy Director Matthew Quinn.

How about traveling?

The travel industry is particularly concerned about the lack of funding for travel. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)which operates airport inspection and security.

The TSA announced that its 63,000 employees will not be paid until the shutdown ends.

Acting TSA Administrator Ha McNeil said at a committee hearing this week that many of its employees “work paycheck to paycheck” and “many are still reeling” from the last shutdown.

“Many of our employees have been hit with late fees and penalties for things like missed bill payments, eviction notices, and loss of long-term child care.”

Historically, delayed pay leads to more staff becoming unwell. As a result, the agency warned of “significant impacts at airports, including delays, extended waiting times and flight cancellations.”

Travel industry groups called on Congress to urgently reconvene and fund the TSA.

“Travelers and the U.S. economy cannot afford to have critical TSA employees work without pay, increasing the risk of unscheduled absences and calls that could ultimately lead to increased wait times and flight cancellations and delays,” US Travel, Airlines for America and the American Hotel and Lodge Association said in a joint statement.

What are the Democrats demanding?

Earlier this month, Democratic leaders sent Republican leaders a list of 10 demands.

They include:

• Require agents to: obtain a warrant from the court before entering private property, and Verify that people are not U.S. citizens before detaining them
• Ordering agency not wearing a face mask
• Require agents to: display id
• Prevent attacks at “important locations” including hospitals, schools, and churches
• No racial profiling, including questions or searches based on a person’s accent, language, or ethnicity
• a “Reasonable use of force” policy and expanded training
• respect the ability of State and local governments investigate excessive force
• minimum Detention center standardsincluding allowing visits by lawyers and members of parliament;
• There is no “militia police”with standardized uniforms and equipment for DHS personnel.

Another demand from the Democratic Party is Agents wear body camerasRepublicans agreed.

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons said this week. More than 3,000 ICE agents currently have cameras installed, and 6,000 more are deployed.

How far along are the negotiations?

The two parties have been exchanging proposals ever since the Democratic Party released its list of demands.

The White House is deeply involved.

The latest proposal from the Republican side has not been made public.

But on Friday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was a “disingenuous proposal” that “obviously omitted what should have happened,” including the warrant requirement.

He said Democrats in both houses of Congress would respond jointly “at some point.”

“Then it will once again be in the hands of Donald Trump and the Republican Party to decide what comes next.”

Hours before the government shutdown began, US President Donald Trump said “Democrats are crazy.”

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We’re talking.”

When could this end?

Lawmakers are currently on vacation, many leaving Washington, a sign that a deal is far from being reached.

They are not scheduled to return to the Capitol until February 23.

But it could be recalled sooner if Democrats and Republicans reach an agreement.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune said, “We’ve given the public notice that they can come back here.”

Talks were expected to continue into the weekend.

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