TSA officers in New England are bracing for the impacts that the shutdown to the Department of Homeland Security could have.
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, shut down late last week after lawmakers failed to agree on funding amid debate over immigration enforcement. DHS also includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, two agencies that have come under intense scrutiny for their handling of immigration operations.
But while the shutdown may be primarily caused by the disagreement over how the federal government handles immigration enforcement, agencies like the TSA may feel the most brunt of the funding lapse.
Mike Gayzagian is president of AFGE Local 2617, the union representing TSA officers in New England. He says officers are still recovering from the previous government shutdown.
"A lot of people are thinking about how they're going to pay for heat and how they're going to pay for rent and how they're going to pay for tuition," he said. "And it's having an impact on people's morale."
Gayzagian said that TSA workers are considered essential, and are therefore obligated to come in regardless of whether there's active funding or not.
Speaking to GBH News over the weekend, Gayzagian said in the next pay period, officers are only expecting to get half a check. If the shutdown continues after that they'll start missing paychecks altogether.
He said officers are frustrated and anxious.
"When you go to work, you expect to be paid and you don't expect to become essentially pawns on a political chessboard," Gayzagian said.
Speaking at a hearing last week, acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said around 95% of TSA's employees are deemed essential and would continue to work without pay.
"Some are just recovering from the financial impact of the 43-day shutdown," she said. "Many are still reeling from it. We cannot put them through another such experience."
For now, the shutdown hasn't had any effect at Logan, at least according to Massport.
"We have not seen any impacts from the shutdown," said a Massport spokesperson in a statement. "The hardworking men and women of TSA continue to come to work and make sure passengers are moving through the checkpoints efficiently."
But Gayzagian and the union are pushing lawmakers to end the impasse as soon as possible. Especially since both ICE and CBP are essentially guaranteed funding anyways due to last year's One, Big, Beautiful Bill.
"Because we really don't see this as having much merit. ICE is going to be paid and Customs is going to be paid. They're going to be fully funded," Gayzagian said. "And so what is the point to defunding agencies that have nothing to do with the controversy that brought this about?"
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