BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry, along with 20 other governors, urged Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democrats to end the government shutdown and fund the Department of Homeland Security in a letter to Schumer on Thursday. 

According to the letter, the governors are "deeply concerned about public safety across the nation following the tragic mass shooting in Austin, Texas, which left three dead and 14 injured."

The governors claimed that the incident "highlights the urgent need for a fully funded Department of Homeland Security."

Democrats in the Senate blocked DHS funding amid a partial government shutdown beginning on Feb. 14 over demands for immigration reforms. 

Democrats have been demanding changes to immigration operations that are the center of President Donald Trump's deportation campaign. The demands come after two U.S. citizens were killed by immigration officers during operations in Minnesota.