Why might the Department of Homeland Security shut down?
One word: Immigration. The Senate has been in a stalemate because of immigration amendments the House attached to the bill last month related to the executive orders issued by President Obama that would defer deportations for millions of migrants who are now in the United States illegally.
After the Senate passed a funding bill early Friday without those provisions, the House voted on a short-term bill that would allow three weeks to sort it all out. That short-term solution failed to pass, so now the ball is still in the House's court to figure out a solution before the midnight deadline for a DHS shutdown.
If they can't pass a bill by midnight Friday, the Department of Homeland Security runs out of money.
What happens if Congress doesn't agree by the Friday deadline?
About 30,000 DHS employees — mostly office workers — will be furloughed. But more than 80% of the department's 240,000 employees will still go to work because their jobs are deemed essential to the nation's safety. Those workers, however, will not get paid.
What is included in the Department of Homeland Security?
The Coast Guard, the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Are other government departments at risk of shutting down if this bill doesn't pass?
No, this bill is specifically for funding the Department of Homeland Security.
