The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has directed thousands of furloughed employees to return to work even though most of the agency remains unfunded due to a government shutdown, internal communications obtained by CBS News reveal.
DHS agencies affected include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The department instructed all employees to resume duties on their next scheduled workday and confirmed that they would be paid using limited available funds.
“All DHS employees … are being returned to a work and paid status,” DHS Chief Human Capital Officer La’ Toya Prieur wrote in an April 10 memo. FEMA staff received an explicit order to report to their normal duty stations in person.
This move departs from traditional government shutdown protocols where only “excepted” employees—those necessary to protect life and property—continue working, often without pay, while others remain furloughed and inactive. DHS justified the recall by asserting that the employees’ work “advances the purpose of available appropriations,” allowing full resumption of duties despite the lack of new congressional funding.
The recall followed a presidential memorandum issued on April 3, directing DHS to arrange back pay for workers dating to the start of the shutdown on February 14. Over 35,000 DHS employees began receiving paychecks the previous Friday, marking the first payments in weeks.
Newly confirmed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told CBS News that most employees would receive pay for missed periods by April 13. However, he cautioned that future payroll funding outside of law enforcement personnel depends entirely on congressional action.
Currently, DHS employees will not receive further payments until Congress resolves the budget impasse. While the Senate approved funding for much of DHS last month excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), House Republicans remain divided over passing the appropriations bill without concurrent progress on ICE and CBP funding via reconciliation.
Legal questions surround the recall, particularly concerning the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from obligating funds not authorized by Congress. DHS appears to be invoking emergency measures or broadening the definition of excepted work to justify the continuation of operations and payroll.
Employees were warned that failure to report could lead to disciplinary action and that their work status would be updated if available funds are exhausted.
For FEMA, the staff recall amid spring flooding and an approaching hurricane season allows the agency to advance vital planning, training, and logistics activities that a shutdown would otherwise stall. However, recalled employees are restricted from overtime work and must confine duties to excepted categories, while the Disaster Relief Fund faces depletion due to the prolonged shutdown.
Why it matters
The DHS recall of furloughed employees challenges established shutdown procedures and raises legal and budgetary concerns about federal spending without appropriations. Operationally, it sustains critical homeland security and emergency functions during a protracted funding lapse, though ongoing uncertainty around funding and congressional negotiations limits longer-term stability.
Background
Since February 14, the federal government has faced a shutdown caused by a failure to pass appropriations legislation. DHS, which employs tens of thousands of workers, was largely furloughed except for essential personnel. The shutdown has disrupted routine operations, delayed paychecks, and raised concerns about national security functions and disaster preparedness as spring and hurricane seasons approach.
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