CBP Funding Diversion: Paying Employees During DHS Shutdown (2026)

Bold claim: Tens of thousands of federal workers at U.S. Customs and Border Protection are poised to keep earning pay even as the Department of Homeland Security faces a funding lapse. And this is where it gets controversial: the plan hinges on redirecting discretionary funds under a bill nicknamed One Big Beautiful Bill Act to cover those who have continued working during the shutdown. That’s the core issue, and it deserves a closer look.

Here’s what’s happening in plain terms. CBP, a DHS component, intends to exempt and continue paying more than 57,600 employees who have been on the job while the partial shutdown persists this month. This decision reportedly comes from an internal communication circulated by the National Treasury Employees Union and obtained by Federal News Network. In practical terms, many frontline law enforcement officers and select civilian staff will keep receiving pay, despite the funding gap.

However, not all CBP personnel will be paid. Some employees are categorized as “excepted,” meaning they will not receive pay until after the shutdown ends. CBP has not immediately commented on the exemption-and-pay plan.

Normally, during a shutdown, most CBP staff are considered “excepted” and work without pay. The agency’s contingency plans estimated that about 63,200 employees would fall into this category during a lapse. With the newly reported exemption, roughly 5,600 CBP staff are expected to continue working without pay until appropriations are restored.

Back pay is typically guaranteed for both furloughed and excepted employees once funding returns, thanks to a 2019 law. Still, the real question is how broadly those rules apply in a given shutdown and how quickly compensation is restored.

Below is a snapshot of the positions that are anticipated to keep getting paid during this shutdown, reflecting a mix of economists, intelligence professionals, contracting staff, forensic scientists, enforcement personnel, IT specialists, and several other roles. This list demonstrates that pay continuity is not limited to a single group but spans multiple mission-critical functions within CBP.

Economists (0110)
Intelligence professionals (0132)
Personnel management (0201)
Telecommunication specialists (0391)
Agriculture specialists (0401)
Auditing (0511)
General attorneys (0905)
Paralegal specialists (0950)
International trade specialists (1101)
Contracting (1102)
Forensic scientists (1301)
General inspection, investigation, enforcement and compliance (1801)
CBP attachés (1801)
Detection enforcement officers (1801)
Law enforcement information system specialists (1801)
Seized property specialists (1801)
CBP interdiction (1881)
Import specialists (1889)
Customs entry and liquidating (1894)
CBP officers (1895)
Border Patrol enforcement (1896)
Aircraft operation (2181)
IT specialists (2210)
Facility mechanics (4749)
Animal caretakers (5048)
Vehicle maintenance mechanics (5823)

This allocation of funds under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) wasn’t earmarked specifically for salaries or day-to-day operations last year. Still, the Trump administration made a notable decision to dedicate some of that money to payroll for certain employees. During the previous shutdown, the administration used OBBBA funds to continue paying about 70,000 federal law enforcement officers, including CBP personnel, while many civilian staff remained unpaid during a 43-day lapse.

The current DHS-only shutdown began on February 14 following a stalemate in immigration-enforcement negotiations. In total, roughly 90% of DHS’s more than 260,000 employees continue working through the shutdown—many while remaining unpaid. This includes personnel at TSA, FEMA, CISA, and Coast Guard civilian staff.

Excepted DHS employees are set to receive a partial paycheck for hours worked before the shutdown began. If the shutdown persists into March, some employees may miss their first full paycheck.

For questions about shutdown pay, DHS directed inquiries to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). An OMB spokesperson indicated that law enforcement personnel and key support staff continue to be paid under the same logic as the previous shutdown.

Federal News Network has compiled a detailed breakdown of who is paid, who isn’t, who continues working, and who is furloughed across DHS components for those following the developing situation.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to include OMB comments.