Here's How a Shutdown Would Affect DHS Agencies
•February 12, 2026
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Why It Matters
The shutdown would disrupt critical security, travel and disaster‑response functions, directly affecting the U.S. economy and public safety. Stakeholders from airlines to state emergency managers would feel immediate operational and financial strain.
Key Takeaways
- •Coast Guard missions suspend except national security, affecting 56k workers
- •CISA designates 888 staff as essential, others furloughed
- •TSA may close checkpoints, causing travel delays and economic impact
- •Secret Service reforms paused, 94% work without pay
- •FEMA furloughs hinder disaster response coordination
Pulse Analysis
The looming DHS partial shutdown underscores the growing political gridlock over federal funding, with the two‑week stopgap set to expire Friday. While ICE enjoys a rare multi‑year appropriations boost, the rest of the department faces a classic funding lapse that forces agencies to categorize essential versus non‑essential personnel. This distinction triggers a cascade of operational constraints, from the Coast Guard’s suspension of routine patrols to CISA’s limited cyber‑response capacity, highlighting how a narrow shutdown can quickly expand beyond immigration enforcement.
For travelers, the most visible impact will be at airport security checkpoints. With roughly 95% of TSA staff required to work without pay, historic call‑out rates rise, prompting potential line closures and cascading flight delays that ripple through the airline industry and ancillary services. Simultaneously, the Coast Guard’s halted training and maintenance schedules threaten maritime safety and could cost the economy billions in delayed vessel inspections. FEMA’s furloughs further jeopardize disaster‑relief readiness, risking slower response times during natural catastrophes and eroding public confidence in emergency management.
Beyond immediate disruptions, the shutdown raises longer‑term concerns for national security and economic stability. Cybersecurity operations at CISA will be strained, limiting real‑time threat sharing and strategic planning, while the Secret Service’s reform agenda stalls, potentially weakening protective measures. Stakeholders—from logistics firms to state emergency coordinators—must prepare contingency plans, and policymakers face pressure to negotiate a swift funding solution to avert sustained damage to critical infrastructure and public safety.
Here's how a shutdown would affect DHS agencies
The federal government appears to be barreling toward yet another partial shutdown this week, as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over a deal to keep the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funded before its two‑week stopgap funding measure expires Friday.
Senate Democrats say negotiations with the White House over changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have not made enough progress to justify backing another short‑term DHS funding bill.
A funding lapse would be narrower in scope than the previous two shutdowns — including the record 43‑day shutdown that ended in November and the brief funding gap earlier this month.
Only the DHS would be affected, but the department’s broad reach — encompassing agencies that handle Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints, cybersecurity threats and emergency disaster relief — means the consequences of a partial shutdown could extend far beyond immigration enforcement.
Here’s how a potential shutdown would affect DHS agencies:
U.S. Coast Guard
The only armed force housed under the DHS would “suspend all missions except those for national security or the protection of life and property” during a shutdown, according to Vice Adm. Thomas Allan, acting vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
“Although missions like law enforcement, national defense, and emergency response continue, a funding lapse has severe and lasting challenges for the Coast Guard’s workforce, operational readiness, and long‑term capabilities,” Allan said Wednesday in testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
If the shutdown lasts for more than a few days, Allan said approximately 56,000 active‑duty, reserve and civilian personnel would go without pay. He warned that missing paychecks would erode morale and make recruiting difficult.
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Certain training would stop, including for pilots, aircrews and boat crews.
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Scheduled maintenance for various aircraft and boats would be deferred, and contractors would not be paid.
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The Coast Guard would not conduct routine patrols or carry out some fisheries enforcement or commercial vessel safety inspections.
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The National Maritime Center would close, meaning “thousands” of merchant mariners who need credentials would be unable to obtain them.
Allan said the delays in vessel inspections and regulatory approvals “can cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each week and translates to higher prices for Americans everywhere.”
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala said only essential functions needed for “the safety of human life or protection of property” would remain operational during a shutdown. That includes responding to imminent threats, sharing timely vulnerability and incident information, maintaining its 24/7 operations center and operating cybersecurity shared services.
She added that because much of CISA’s mission is centered on prevention and preparedness, “it is harder to cleanly align an imminent threat to an excepted function.”
“Should a DHS shutdown be ongoing, operations would become strained and service delivery delayed in core mission areas such as cyber response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training, exercises, and special event planning,” Gottumukkala said.
CISA’s ability to protect federal networks from cyberthreats would be hindered, and the agency “would not perform any strategic planning, development of cybersecurity advice and guidance, or development of new technical capabilities.”
The acting director said 888 of the 2,341 employees would be designated as excepted workers (working without pay), while the rest would be furloughed.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Americans are likely to notice the effects of a shutdown most acutely with the TSA, as was the case in the fall, when the organization saw a high number of absences, resulting in fewer staff, low morale and longer wait times at airport security checkpoints.
TSA acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill warned that those effects are likely to recur if a shutdown continues for too long.
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Approximately 95 percent of TSA employees are required to work without pay during a shutdown, historically leading to higher call‑out rates.
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The TSA may be forced to close lines at security checkpoints, extending wait times and causing flight delays or cancellations, which “has a cascading negative impact on the American economy.”
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A shutdown also delays deployment of certain technological improvements at airports.
McNeill noted a 25 percent increase in TSA officer departures in October‑November of last year compared with the same period the year before.
U.S. Secret Service
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the shutdown would not impair the agency’s core functions, but needed reforms — including those highlighted after President Trump was shot and wounded onstage in Butler, Pa. — would be the first thing put on hold.
“We are on the cusp of implementing generational change for our agency. A shutdown halts our reform efforts and undermines the momentum we, including all of you, have worked so hard to build together,” Quinn said.
Quinn said 94 percent of the Secret Service workforce stays on and works without pay during a shutdown. He added that many reform initiatives, training programs, and partnerships (e.g., with the National Computer Forensics Institute and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) would be paused or severely impacted.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Gregg Phillips, associate administrator of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, warned that if Congress fails to pass funding, many FEMA workers will be furloughed, hampering the agency’s ability “to coordinate effectively with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners.”
“This will hinder communication, planning, and joint operations, affecting disaster relief outcomes and complicating recovery efforts,” he said.
Phillips said a funding delay “could undermine our readiness for major incidents, including terrorism or large‑scale disasters, by disrupting critical preparedness and response activities,” and would further delay processing the backlog of disaster relief claims. He cautioned that delayed responses to natural disasters could erode public confidence in the agency.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
ICE, the agency at the heart of the funding standoff, will mostly continue to operate during a potential shutdown. The vast majority of its employees are considered essential and are therefore required to continue working, even as traditional funding dries up.
The agency is in a unique position this year because President Trump’s tax and spending bill last year included $75 billion for ICE over four years. The Washington Post noted that the one‑time bonus for the law‑enforcement agency is eight times the amount it received in 2020, the year with the highest funding level to date.
The DHS did not respond to specific questions about how ICE would be affected during a shutdown. Representatives from ICE were absent from the witness panel at Wednesday’s hearing.
A spokesperson for the department told The Hill, “DHS essential missions and functions will continue as they do during every shutdown. However, during a shutdown, many employees will be forced to work without pay, putting strain on the frontline defenders of our nation.”
Updated at 9:01 a.m. EST
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