DHS Recalls Furloughed Staff to Work With Limited Funds as Congress Debates ICE–CBP Reconciliation Fix
The Department of Homeland Security has quietly begun ordering thousands of furloughed employees back to work amid a partial DHS shutdown, telling staff across components including FEMA and CISA to return to duty using “available funds” even as Congress debates how to fix the funding gap. Internal DHS messages obtained by reporters say hundreds of thousands of employees are being shifted into exempt or paid status; more than 35,000 workers have already received back pay under an April 3 presidential directive, but DHS warned those workers will not receive further pay until Congress resolves the impasse. The move comes as Senate Republicans, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham and John Barrasso and with explicit public backing from President Trump, push a narrow reconciliation strategy to fund ICE and CBP for the remainder of the presidential term — a plan they say will insulate border‑enforcement agencies from annual appropriations fights and address parts of DHS not covered by other stopgap measures.
The operational steps at DHS and the Republican reconciliation push are unfolding against a broader policy backdrop that complicates the argument for an expanded, long‑term enforcement build‑out: net international migration to the U.S. fell sharply, from 2.7 million in the year through June 2024 to 1.3 million in the year through June 2025, with projections suggesting the trend could drop further to roughly 321,000 by July 2026. That demographic context is being cited by some observers to question whether the scale of additional, insulated funding is commensurate with on‑the‑ground migration pressures. Meanwhile, DHS’s use of limited funds to recall staff has raised legal questions about compliance with the Antideficiency Act if those funds run out, and the department says it will update employees only if the money dries up.
Coverage of the impasse has shifted in recent weeks from stories emphasizing how prior appropriations and emergency windfalls insulated agencies like ICE to reporting focused on real‑time political maneuvering and operational responses. Earlier pieces documented the historic influx of resources that cushioned immigration enforcement; newer reporting — driven in part by Fox News’s disclosure of a GOP reconciliation strategy and by CBS’s reporting on internal DHS emails — has highlighted a tactical Republican effort to carve out ICE and CBP funding via reconciliation while DHS quietly recalls furloughed staff. Public reaction on social platforms has been sharply critical from multiple angles: some users blast House Republicans for postponing votes on ICE/CBP funding, others say Democrats refuse further continuing resolutions without reforms, and many observers express outrage at employees being ordered back to work amid pay uncertainty.
📊 Relevant Data
Net international migration to the US declined from 2.7 million between July 2023 and June 2024 to 1.3 million between July 2024 and June 2025, leading to a population growth rate of 0.5% in that period, the slowest since 2021.
Population Growth Slows Due to Decline in Net International Migration — United States Census Bureau
Net international migration is projected to further decline to approximately 321,000 by July 2026 if current trends continue, potentially leading to negative job growth becoming the norm.
Population Growth Slows Due to Decline in Net International Migration — United States Census Bureau
📌 Key Facts
- Senate Republicans, led by Lindsey Graham and John Barrasso, are preparing a narrowly focused reconciliation package to fund ICE and CBP for the remainder of President Trump’s term (three years), intended to insulate those agencies from future annual appropriations fights.
- President Trump publicly endorsed the reconciliation strategy on Truth Social and ordered the bill be completed and on his desk by June 1.
- Republican leaders plan to keep the reconciliation bill tightly limited to immigration enforcement funding (ICE and Border Patrol/CBP) and avoid adding other items (such as the SAVE America Act) that could violate reconciliation rules or slow the process.
- The push for reconciliation is framed as a response to a partial DHS shutdown now in its second month, amid House–Senate friction over competing DHS funding bills and a stalled Senate carve‑out for ICE and parts of CBP.
- Internal DHS emails show the department ordered thousands of furloughed employees — including staff at FEMA and CISA — back to duty, with FEMA told that all employees will be placed in exempt status and expected to report in person.
- DHS says it is using 'available funds' to pay employees and will issue a new status update if those funds run out, raising questions about compliance with the Antideficiency Act during the funding lapse.
- More than 35,000 DHS employees have already received back pay under an April 3 presidential directive, but the department has told staff they will not receive further pay until Congress resolves the funding impasse.
- An emerging Hill strategy would fund most of DHS in a Senate deal while excluding ICE and CBP, paired with a separate Republican reconciliation effort to fund ICE/CBP without Democratic votes; some House Republicans have vowed to hold up broader DHS funding until reconciliation advances.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Internal DHS emails obtained by CBS show the department has ordered thousands of furloughed workers at components including FEMA and CISA back to duty, declaring that 'All DHS employees … are being returned to a work and paid status.'
- A separate message tells FEMA staff that 'All FEMA employees will be placed in exempt status and are expected to report in person to their normal duty station,' effectively treating the entire agency as exempt during the shutdown.
- DHS says it is using 'available funds' to pay employees and will issue a new status update if those funds run out, raising fresh questions about compliance with the Antideficiency Act during an unresolved funding lapse.
- More than 35,000 DHS employees have already received back pay under an April 3 presidential directive, but the department has told staff they will not be paid again until Congress ends the funding impasse.
- The article details the emerging Hill strategy: a Senate deal to fund DHS except ICE and CBP, with Republicans pushing a separate reconciliation bill to fund ICE and CBP without Democratic votes and some House Republicans vowing to hold up broader DHS funding until reconciliation advances.
- Senate Republicans, led by Lindsey Graham and John Barrasso, are preparing a new reconciliation package specifically to fund ICE and CBP for the remaining three years of Trump’s presidency.
- President Trump has explicitly endorsed this strategy, publicly declaring on Truth Social that 'Reconciliation is ON TRACK,' and ordering that the bill be completed and on his desk no later than June 1.
- Graham states on Fox News that the bill will be 'very specific' and will fund Border Patrol and ICE for 'the entire presidency,' signaling an intent to insulate those agencies from future annual appropriations fights.
- Republicans are deliberately trying to keep the reconciliation package narrowly focused on immigration enforcement funding rather than loading it with additional items such as the SAVE America Act, which could run afoul of reconciliation rules or slow the process.
- The push is framed as a direct response to a partial DHS shutdown now in its second month, with House–Senate friction over competing DHS funding bills and a stalled Senate carve‑out for ICE and parts of CBP.