Some federal border security employees have been going to work without pay since the start of the partial government shutdown in February. Others doing the same job have been getting paid all along. The difference has left some workers feeling, in their words, like second-class employees.

The partial shutdown, which began Feb. 14 after lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement for the Department of Homeland Security, has left thousands of DHS employees reporting to work without pay. The effects have been visible: Airport security lines have slowed, and other key government functions have been disrupted.

Much of the public attention has focused on the Transportation Security Administration, whose workers began receiving some pay this week after a recent executive order. But some Customs and Border Protection employees say they are still waiting for relief — even as the White House says help is on the way.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing DHS to use existing funds to pay all department employees — including those who have gone without paychecks since the shutdown began — and to provide them with the compensation and benefits they would have received had the shutdown not occurred. It did not provide a timeline for distributing those funds, and the White House did not respond to questions about when workers would actually see that money.

“It’s really taking a toll on them,” said Santiago Valdez, president of the Arizona chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union and a CBP officer based in Phoenix.

As chapter president, he represents several of the CBP employees working without pay. Among the roles affected, he says, are those in mission support and technicians. 

Valdez represents hundreds of CBP employees working without pay, including those in mission support roles and technical positions. “Without all the advanced equipment that these people maintain, it would be very difficult for us to do our job,” said Valdez. “They are very important to the mission.”

Rising gas prices have compounded the pain. Arizona has some of the highest fuel costs in the country, and Valdez told MS NOW that the situation has grown so dire that some employees have begun to bring in canned food to break rooms for co-workers who can’t afford groceries. 

During the shutdown some DHS employees, such as CBP officers and ICE agents, have been getting paid — in part thanks to funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer. But other employees, such as those processing payroll and maintaining field equipment, are expected to continue working through the shutdown — getting paid only after an agreement on funding has been reached by Congress. 

The fact that some DHS staff are getting paid while others are not has left some employees feeling overlooked, says another NTEU member.

“The employees here are like, ‘What are we, second-class workers? Why aren’t we valued like everyone else?’” said Gustavo Sanchez, a CBP officer based in El Paso, Texas, who is president of his NTEU chapter. 

Sanchez and Valdez estimate that more than 100 CBP employees in their chapters have been affected, including some who are the sole financial providers for their household. 

“If it wasn’t for the One Big Beautiful Bill, I would be in the same position as my co-workers,” Sanchez said. “You’re expecting these people to show up to work and not get paid. Meanwhile you have these politicians on a two-week break. … It makes no sense.”

CBP did not respond to requests for comment.

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