‘Overlooked’ DHS staff sound off on shutdown

Many employees at the Department of Homeland Security continue to work without pay, with the now record-long partial government shutdown leading to financial challenges and low morale for many civilian employees across various DHS components.

While the Trump administration is now redirecting funds to pay Transportation Security Administration employees through the shutdown, staff at other DHS components are concerned the move could lessen the pressure on Congress to reach a funding deal.

The employees spoke to Federal News Network on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

“There’s huge concern that this will go on longer now that TSA is being paid and the public will feel less pain,” one employee at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told Federal News Network.

Approximately 800 employees at CISA – roughly 40% of the staff – are “excepted” during the shutdown and have continued to work unpaid over the last 47 days.

“Dealing with the first shutdown was hard enough on most feds,” the CISA employee said. “Having to deal with a second one, that’s already longer, is very hard on people – especially if they already used their [Thrift Savings Plan] options for the first one and don’t have access to those options this time.”

A Federal Emergency Management Agency employee expressed similar concerns. While some FEMA staff are paid through the Disaster Relief Fund, permanent full-time employees at FEMA go unpaid when appropriations lapse.

“I have friends and colleagues who are suffering and demoralized, especially after the decision to fund TSA, while FEMA and CISA employees continue to be overlooked,” the FEMA employee said.

While the Trump administration has also used funds from last year’s reconciliation bill to pay DHS law enforcement officers, many civilian employees at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are working unpaid.

Those unpaid staffers say they’re frustrated by the narrative that CBP and ICE have been fully insulated from the shutdown’s effects.

One CBP employee estimated about 9,000 civilians across the agency have been forced to work without pay through the shutdown.

“Our management has not been transparent about why some are getting paid, and others are not,” the employee said.

Meanwhile, mortgage and rent payments, credit card debt, and medical bills are piling up, leading to stressful situations for excepted employees.

The CBP employee pointed out that personal debts accrued during the shutdown could also impact security clearances. Credit and debt are key factors in determining whether federal employees and contractors should receive clearance.

A second CBP employee pointed out that some employees are preparing to miss their third paycheck of the shutdown next week.

“We have had no communication from leadership regarding the shutdown or what it is being done to assist those of us not receiving a paycheck,” the employee said. “The only thing we received was a letter for creditors, but financial institutions have not been accommodating. This leaves us with virtually no options. Because we are required to report to work, it makes it hard to find temporary employment and we are not eligible for furlough.”

Some DHS components have allowed essential staff to telework in recent weeks to ease the burden of commuting costs.

One CBP employee said staff were recently allowed to telework at least three days per week. The CISA employee said essential staff at the cyber agency have been able to telework some days. CISA also recently lifted restrictions on flexible work arrangements.

Meanwhile, House and Senate Republican leaders on Wednesday announced a path forward to end the partial government shutdown “in the coming days.” The agreement would fund most of DHS through a Senate-passed appropriations measure supported by Democrats, while Republicans would try to use reconciliation to separately fund CBP and ICE for the next three years.

DHS staff were split on who to blame for the shutdown. One of the CBP employees said they were nonpartisan, but thought Democrats’ insistence on holding out for ICE and CBP reforms didn’t make sense given immigration enforcement operations have been funded by last year’s reconciliation measure regardless.

“We are simply asking to be paid for the work we are required to perform and for Congress to stop using us as political pawns,” the CBP employee said.

On the other hand, the FEMA employee said they were glad Democrats “have not caved on the immigration enforcement issues.”

“We just hate that we’re caught up in it,” the FEMA staffer added.

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