The Trump administration has promised tens of thousands of federal agents involved in immigration enforcement that they will be paid during the ongoing government shutdown, even as other federal workers go without pay, according to internal emails seen by Reuters.
The pay plan was communicated to staff at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later confirmed that more than 70,000 law enforcement officers across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including those at CBP, ICE, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will receive a “supercheck” by 22 October covering pay for all hours worked during the shutdown and the next pay period.
The decision shields personnel implementing one of President Donald Trump’s top domestic priorities from the financial hardship many federal workers are experiencing. The shutdown, which began on 1 October, has suspended salary payments for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, though many are still required to work because their jobs are considered essential.
The Trump administration has also said it will pay military troops and FBI agents during the shutdown. It remains unclear what funds ICE and CBP will use to provide the pay; DHS did not answer questions about the funding source.
