The Trump administration plans to keep paying law enforcement officers within the Department of Homeland Security while other federal workers go without paychecks due to the government shutdown, according to an internal DHS memo obtained by HuffPost.
The memo issued by the agency’s top human resources officer on Wednesday said the White House had directed DHS to continue “timely payment” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, even though federal funding had lapsed.
Those personnel have been key to Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown in cities around the country, and the decision to pay them amounts to special treatment for Trump’s favorite constituency within the federal bureaucracy.
The memo said paying ICE officers and Border Patrol agents despite the shutdown would be “in alignment with the Administration’s commitment to law enforcement officers.”
It did not spell out exactly where the money would be coming from or what the legal justification would be — only that DHS would “allocate available funding to ensure full and timely payments … for the duration of the shutdown.”
The pay would cover two pay periods since the shutdown began, and officers could expect the money “no later than” Oct. 22.
Other federal employees aren’t so lucky.
Hundreds of thousands have been furloughed and are not working or being paid. Many feds continue to work as “exempt” employees during the shutdown but don’t expect paychecks until Congress passes a bill restoring funding and the shutdown ends.
A DHS employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said that even though law enforcement officers would be paid, DHS support staff would not be — including those working to process the paychecks for ICE officers and Border Patrol agents.
Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem confirmed that plan through a spokesperson, saying 70,000 law enforcement officers, including some at the U.S. Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration, would be paid “for all hours worked” through the shutdown.
“DHS remains deeply grateful to our law enforcement for their continued professionalism, vigilance, and service under challenging circumstances,” Noem said.
The government shutdown began on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to agree on a deal to fund the government. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, but Democrats, who have enough votes to filibuster a bill in the Senate, are demanding that any deal extend subsidies for people who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Government shutdowns can be painful for federal employees and the general public, since a lot of government services are cut back or unavailable, but Trump has tried to minimize the discomfort for select groups he favors. In addition to paying DHS law enforcement officers, the administration also hopes to keep paying members of the military while the shutdown drags on.
This story has been updated with comment from Noem.