A plan by one of Texas' two US senators is gaining momentum in Washington as a way to help break a deadlock that threatens America's national security.
Senator Ted Cruz is proposing the spinoff of two agencies from the Department of Homeland Security.-- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), which would then become separate agencies that require their own specialized funding.
As the US Congress continues an emergency weekend session in hopes of funding Homeland Security, some Democrats are expressing enthusiasm for Cruz's plan, which, if worked out, could allow the quick return of TSA security personnel to US airports.
Democrats who are adamant about reorganizing ICE have for weeks been holding up an agreement in the Senate that both parties want to fund Homeland Security.
ICE is already separately funded, despite being a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under President Trump's favored Big Beautiful Bill.
But Democrats are generally refusing to fund DHS because they want to reorganize ICE with new rules that would include no face masks and the revealing of individual agents' identities, both of which Republicans argue would place agents in danger of being doxxed or attacked at home.
Sen. Cruz said Saturday that splitting the two agencies out of DHS could allow Democrats to approve DHS funding that would allow TSA agents to go back to work; the absence of some security personnel provided by TSA has caused hours-long waits at some airports over the past few weeks.
Federal officials have for weeks been concerned that American security interests are being compromised during these times when DHS and its security functions are disabled because Congress is not funding the agency.