How a DHS Shutdown Punishes the Workforce That Guards America

By Mathew Silverman, National President, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association 

A 2026 shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not an abstract budget dispute. It is a direct interruption of funding for the federal department charged with protecting the American homeland, triggered by a congressional impasse over immigration policy while the rest of the federal government remains funded.

Approximately 90 to 95 percent of DHS employees continue reporting for duty. That includes Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, Border Patrol (BP) agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel, and members of the U.S. Coast Guard. They remain on post to secure airports, patrol borders, respond to disasters, and protect maritime interests. Most are doing so without pay.

This is not symbolic. It is personal.

Some DHS employees are once again working without a paycheck after the department partially shut down over the weekend. With Congress out of session, there is no clear timeline for resolution. Meanwhile, the bills do not stop. Mortgages do not pause. Grocery still need to be paid for.

For many TSA officers still recovering from the 43-day shutdown that ended on November 12, 2025, the question is painfully simple. Do I put gas in the car to go to work for free, or do I use that money to put food on the table for my children?

Approximately 61,000 TSA employees, roughly 95 percent of the workforce, are deemed essential. That means they must report for duty. It does not mean they receive a paycheck during a shutdown.

At a recent oversight hearing, TSA Acting Director Ha Nguyen McNeill warned lawmakers about the consequences of repeating this cycle. She testified that putting employees through another prolonged shutdown would be unconscionable. She described a K9 handler during the last shutdown who was forced to draw from her retirement savings and rely on food donations to support her family until back pay was issued. That account is not an isolated anecdote. It is a warning.

During the previous shutdown, TSA reportedly experienced more than a 25 percent increase in separations in October and November compared to the same period in 2024. Financial strain translated directly into attrition. Increased unscheduled absences led to localized spikes in airport wait times. The longer the shutdown persisted, the more untenable it became for frontline personnel to afford coming to work.

The operational impacts are real… and so is the negative impact on public safety.

Key consequences of this DHS shutdown include:

• Operations continue. Frontline agents and officers remain on duty protecting life and property. The mission does not stop.
• Delayed pay. Hundreds of thousands of DHS employees are working without compensation, with missed paychecks expected in early- to mid-March 2026.
• Furloughs. Approximately 22,862 employees are furloughed, shifting additional workload onto those already reporting without pay.
• Travel and border security. TSA and border operations remain active, but prolonged funding gaps risk staffing shortages, morale degradation, and operational strain.
• Limited scope. This is a partial government shutdown affecting DHS alone.

According to DHS’s published contingency plan, approximately 249,065 out of 271,927 employees will continue working during the lapse in appropriations. The majority of them will not receive pay until Congress acts.

Before the shutdown began, Secretary Kristi Noem warned that failing to fund DHS was dangerous and emphasized that the department was created after September 11 because the nation recognized its vulnerability to terrorist threats and the necessity of a unified homeland security structure.

Opposition leaders, including Hakeem Jeffries, have stated they will not support DHS funding without significant changes to ICE operations following controversial incidents involving federal agents. They have called for substantial reforms as a condition of funding.

But here is the central truth that cannot be ignored.

The shutdown does not halt immigration enforcement, airport screening, border patrols, Coast Guard operations, or FEMA preparedness efforts. It simply forces those carrying out these missions to do so without pay.

This has once again become a political flashpoint surrounding President Donald Trump and his administration’s immigration priorities. However, the individuals absorbing the consequences are not cabinet officials or members of Congress. They are line officers, enlisted Coast Guard members, screeners, and disaster response planners.

These honorable public servants are being used as leverage in a policy dispute.

You can debate immigration enforcement strategy. You can argue over statutory authorities and oversight reforms. That is the role of elected officials. What should not be debatable is whether men and women ordered to report for duty protecting this country receive compensation for their work.

Using DHS funding as a negotiating tactic does not weaken immigration operations. It weakens the workforce required to execute them. It erodes morale. It increases attrition. It signals to current and future employees that their financial security can be suspended whenever political negotiations stall.

National security professionals already accept significant risk. Many operate in dangerous environments. Many work long shifts, nights, weekends, and holidays. The least the federal government can guarantee them is stability in compensation.

This shutdown pressures paychecks far more than it pressures policymakers.

If Congress intends to pursue reform, it should do so through legislation and debate, not by withholding operational funding from the department responsible for securing the homeland. If disagreements over ICE policy exist, they should be addressed directly. The current approach ensures that DHS personnel shoulder the cost of political gridlock.

The American public may not feel immediate disruption. Airports remain open. Borders remain staffed. But that continuity is being sustained on the backs of employees who are working without pay.

That is not sustainable.

It is my hope that this shutdown is resolved quickly and responsibly. DHS employees deserve to return to normal pay cycles and predictable financial stability. More importantly, they deserve not to be used as pawns in a broader political struggle.

Protecting the homeland requires more than rhetoric. It requires funding. It requires stability. And it requires honoring the commitment made to those who stand watch on behalf of this nation every single day.