PRFAA details the impact of the lack of agreement on DHS funding
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), Gabriella Boffelli, reported that the lack of a congressional agreement for the funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will maintain a partial shutdown limited exclusively to that agency starting at midnight on Saturday, and does not represent a total shutdown of the federal government.
Boffelli explained that, under the current legislative framework, including provisions contained in the federal measure HR 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was signed into law on July 4 by President Donald J. Trump, there are available funds that could be used to finance operational expenses of some components of the federal agency, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“It’s important that our people have clarity about what’s happening. This is a partial and specific shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, not a general shutdown of the federal government. In addition to ICE and CBP, there are other components such as the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that are part of DHS.”
Essential employees of this agency who perform national security and law enforcement missions will continue working. Furthermore, FEMA has stated that it will continue its life-saving mission and has sufficient funds for emergency response activities.
“A shutdown is never ideal, and we are hopeful that Congress and the White House will soon reach an agreement to minimize any adverse impacts, including ensuring that our federal employees in these components do not go without pay at the end of the month,” Boffelli said.
Boffelli also noted that Congress is in recess until next Monday, February 23; however, leadership has indicated that if an agreement is reached before that date, lawmakers will have 48 hours to return to Washington for consideration and approval of the proposal.