US Border Patrol agents to receive pay during government shutdown

FILE PHOTO: Migrants gather between the primary and secondary border fences in San Diego as the United States prepares to lift COVID-19 era restrictions known as Title 42, that have blocked migrants at the U.S.- Mexico border from seeking asylum since 2020, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico May 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aimee Melo/File Photo

The pay plan was communicated to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection staff on Wednesday in separate internal emails seen by Reuters. After Reuters first reported the plan, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that more than 70 000 law enforcement officers across Department of Homeland Security including those at Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration will be paid,” he said.

They are to receive by October 22 a “supercheck” covering pay for all hours worked during the shutdown period and the next pay period, she said.

The decision shields the personnel, who are implementing one of Trump’s top domestic priorities in the face of mounting public criticism, from the financial hardship many federal workers are experiencing during the shutdown.

–Reuters–