Democrats are playing games with America’s security. With growing dangers of violence by cartels and other violent actors, it couldn’t come at a worse time.
Democrats triggered a partial government shutdown in mid-February after Senate Democrats blocked a short-term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that DHS needs reforms in the wake of recent incidents in Minnesota in which officers shot and killed two citizens.
The shutdown is now well into its second week, and its impact is being felt in important agencies tasked with keeping Americans safe, such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, among others.
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Now is not the time to play politics with national security. On Feb. 22, the Mexican military, with assistance from the United States, killed the boss of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed “El Mencho.” The cartel responded with widespread and wanton violence, murdering more than two dozen Mexican national guardsmen, erecting more than 250 roadblocks, and causing so much death and destruction that schools were closed, flights were grounded, and Mexican and American governments called on citizens to “shelter in place.”
By day’s end, more than 60 were dead. There are worrying signs that the violence is likely to continue. Some reports indicate that the cartel has begun targeting Americans who are in Mexico. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) warned that “narco-terrorists” were “hunting down American citizens” in retaliation for U.S. pressure for the crackdown and for cooperation with Mexico’s government.
Such concerns should be taken seriously. Cartels such as JNGC are massive paramilitary organizations with global reach. Many have links to other foes, including U.S.-designated terrorist groups, including Hezbollah and China’s People’s Liberation Army. They are murderous and highly capable corporations with a history of torture and savagery that rivals the Islamic State and other modern barbarians.
They are reacting viciously because if the U.S.-Mexico crackdown on cartels is effective, they stand to lose billions of dollars and their most important foothold in America’s backyard. They will not go quietly. They have a substantial presence here in the U.S. homeland. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, transnational criminal organizations such as CJNG and Sinaloa have tentacles in “major cities throughout the United States.”
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Many of the U.S. government agencies tasked with combating cartels, work that includes investigating and arresting operatives on American soil, are hit by the Democrats’ shutdown.
Homeland Security Investigations, for example, is at the tip of the spear pointed at cartel activity. HSI works closely with partner agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others, to fight cartels. In January 2026, for example, HSI worked with the Department of Justice to arrest 37 senior cartel members and bring them to trial. HSI is also involved in combating human smuggling, which is an important money maker for cartels.
This makes the Democrats’ decision to shut down DHS dangerous. The move hurts morale, with an estimated 90% of DHS employees expected to continue working without pay. It undermines training, staffing, and investigations, with many agencies forced to redeploy or limit assignments.
While some, such as HSI special agents, are deemed “essential,” they are also hindered by the shutdown, which hampers administrative and logistical support.
Among the entities affected, ironically, is DHS’s own Office of the Inspector General, which had to suspend 85% of its audits, evaluations, and inspections. Democrats have therefore hindered DHS work but prevented proper monitoring by the department set up to ensure that the work is done properly. In pursuit of an ideological agenda, Democrats have thus also scored an “own goal,” hobbling oversight of the agency they claim they want to reform.
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The shutdown is little more than a Democrat publicity stunt. Some of their demands, such as body cameras, standardized uniforms, and better training, are reasonable. But allowing left-wing state district attorneys to prosecute federal law enforcement officials is not.
With the battle against powerful cartels heating up, lawmakers should work to protect the homeland, not score cheap political points by undermining its ability to do its job.