DHS Shutdown Will Not Slow ICE Operations in Pasadena, Officials Say

The Department of Homeland Security shutdown that began Saturday will not reduce Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Pasadena or anywhere else, federal officials and members of Congress from both parties said, meaning the immigration raids that have gripped the city since last summer will likely continue uninterrupted.

ICE and Customs and Border Protection received a combined $140 billion through last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — $75 billion for ICE and $65 billion for CBP, according to CBS News — funding that operates independently of the annual spending bills now stalled in Congress. Both agencies’ employees are expected to continue working and continue getting paid, NBC News reported.

“The things they want to shut down aren’t going to shut down,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said, referring to anti-ICE protestors, according to NBC News. “ICE is fully funded. The Border Patrol is fully funded.”

ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons told Congress this week that the shutdown would not significantly affect immigration enforcement operations, according to NPR.

The agency’s conduct in Pasadena — where federal agents have detained residents at bus stops, parking lots and in neighborhoods near schools — has been a source of fear and tension since last summer, when at least 14 people were taken into custody over the course of a single week. The City Council has formally condemned the raids.

The political dispute that triggered the DHS shutdown is, at its core, about ICE.

Senate Democrats refused to fund the department without new restrictions on immigration enforcement after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January, according to NBC News. Democrats have demanded that agents wear body cameras and identification, obtain judicial warrants for arrests on private property and stop wearing masks. Republicans have resisted most of those conditions.

Yet the shutdown’s leverage over ICE is limited.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the only Democrat to vote with Republicans on the DHS funding bill, put it bluntly after the vote Thursday, according to The Hill: “Shutting DHS down has zero impact and zero changes for ICE. But it will hit FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA and our Cybersecurity Agency.”

Eaton Fire Survivors Face Potential FEMA Delays

The shutdown could carry more tangible consequences for Pasadena and Altadena residents still recovering from the Eaton Fire, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures after igniting on Jan. 7, 2025.

FEMA has been processing disaster assistance for thousands of displaced households, with a Survivor Support Location operating at the Altadena Community Center at 730 E. Altadena Drive.

Gregg Phillips, associate administrator of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery, warned Congress last week that a shutdown would “severely disrupt FEMA’s ability to reimburse states for disaster relief costs,” according to CBS News.

“In the 45 days I’ve been here … we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,” Phillips said, according to Fox News. “We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.”

FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has roughly $7 billion to $8 billion on hand, enough to sustain near-term emergency response, according to Federal News Network. But a prolonged lapse could slow the processing of reimbursements already owed to state and local governments and delay new hazard-mitigation grants — a concern for hillside and flood-prone areas in and around Pasadena.

A DHS spending bill stalled in the Senate would have directed more than $26 billion into the fund and strengthened oversight of hazard-mitigation spending, according to Federal News Network.

An FEMA official warned that the fund could face serious problems if the shutdown extends beyond a month or if an unforeseen catastrophic disaster strikes during the lapse, according to Fox News — a risk that resonates in the San Gabriel foothills, where wildfire, flood and earthquake threats persist year-round.

Airports, TSA and Other Impacts

TSA agents at Hollywood Burbank Airport — partially owned and operated by Pasadena — Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario International Airport continue screening passengers but are working without pay.

About 95% of TSA’s roughly 61,000 employees are deemed essential, Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress, according to ABC News.

“Twelve weeks later, some are just recovering from the financial impact of the 43-day shutdown,” McNeill said, according to ABC News. “We cannot put them through another such experience.”

Air traffic controllers fall under the separately funded Federal Aviation Administration and are not affected. But if the shutdown stretches into March, when spring break travel picks up, travel groups have warned that unpaid TSA agents could begin calling out sick or seeking second jobs, potentially lengthening security lines at airports used by Pasadena travelers. During last fall’s record 43-day shutdown, Hollywood Burbank Airport experienced acute staffing shortages and ground delays.

Congress left Washington for a weeklong Presidents Day recess and is not scheduled to return until Feb. 23, one day before President Trump’s scheduled State of the Union address, according to CBS News. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told members to stay available to return if a deal is reached, though neither side has signaled a breakthrough is imminent.

Roughly 97% of the federal government remains funded through September. Social Security checks continue to be issued. Most USCIS immigration services funded by application fees also continue, though programs dependent on appropriated funds — including E-Verify and certain specialty visa categories — could face delays.

FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center in Altadena remains open for Eaton Fire survivors. Residents can apply for assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

The shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, when a two-week stopgap measure expired. A Senate vote to advance full-year DHS funding failed 52-47 on Thursday, with Fetterman the only Democrat crossing party lines, according to NBC News. The White House and Senate Democrats continued exchanging proposals over the weekend, but the two sides described each other’s offers as inadequate.

“Shutting DHS down has zero impact and zero changes for ICE,” Fetterman said. “But it will hit FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA and our Cybersecurity Agency.”