JTA — A nearly monthlong shutdown at the US Department of Homeland Security is halting the review of millions of dollars in security funding for nonprofits, leaving Jewish institutions such as synagogues, as well as other vulnerable groups, in limbo at a moment of heightened concern about antisemitic threats.

The most recent threat came on Thursday when an armed assailant rammed his vehicle into a large synagogue in suburban Detroit, where trained security forces shot at him, killing him before he could seriously injure anyone. A guard was wounded in the attack and is expected to recover.

The closure, dating to February 14, stems from a political standoff over immigration enforcement: US Senate Democrats are refusing to fund DHS unless the bill includes new oversight and limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, while Republicans and the Trump administration insist on passing funding without those changes. The dispute intensified after the killings of US citizens in Minnesota during recent immigration operations.

Applications for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding for synagogues, schools and community centers to pay for security guards, cameras, reinforced doors, and other forms of protection, were due February 1.

But because the program is administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a component of DHS, the ongoing shutdown has frozen the process before applications could be........

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