The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hit day 15 of a partial shutdown on 28 February 2026, with no breakthrough in Congress despite heightened security concerns following U.S. military action against Iran. House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino warned that operating the nation’s front-line security agency on “emergency fumes” jeopardises the response to potential retaliatory attacks. Roughly 190,000 DHS employees—including Transportation Security Administration screeners and Customs and Border Protection officers—continue to work without pay; administrative staff remain furloughed, lengthening Trusted-Traveller application times and delaying Global Entry enrolment interviews. Airports report rising sick-outs among unpaid TSA agents, forcing consolidation of security lanes at Dallas Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare. Legislators remain deadlocked over immigration-enforcement riders tied to long-term DHS appropriations. Senate Democrats refuse to advance the House bill unless caps are placed on refugee detention beds; Republicans argue restrictions would undercut President Trump’s crackdown on unlawful immigration. For mobility programmes, the shutdown’s most immediate impact is the freeze on E-2 investor-visa site inspections handled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and potential staffing gaps at ports of entry if the labour dispute widens. Employers sponsoring foreign talent are being advised to budget for airport delays and to file extensions early in case adjudication times climb. If funding is not restored before the next federal payday on 7 March, union leaders warn of a “cascade of no-shows” at security checkpoints—an echo of the 2019 shutdown that caused multi-hour airport waits and forced Delta to re-route crew positioning flights.
